Former adviser to Avakov embroiled in major scandal over Marchuk’s paintings
Ihor Apostol, the son of former MP and ex-adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov’s adviser Mykhailo Apostol, obtained an exclusive license to use the copyright for all paintings by Ivan Marchuk for a period of 100 years.
According to the artist’s longtime assistant, Tamara Strypko, in May 2020 Mykhailo Apostol contacted her and proposed a meeting. He arrived with two men: lawyer Serhiy Pavlenko and businessman Mykhailo Synytsia. Apostol showed a document, claiming that Marchuk was aware of it and had agreed to sign it. He also emphasized that the agreement would only take effect once it was notarized.
The group went to Marchuk’s studio in Kyiv. Once there, Apostol stepped aside for personal matters, while Strypko and Synytsia went inside. The artist, without reading the document, signed it. According to the publication, it has a copy of the agreement bearing the signatures of five people: Ivan Marchuk, Serhiy Pavlenko, Mykhailo Synytsia, Ihor Apostol, and Tamara Strypko.
The signed licensing agreement granted those four individuals the exclusive right to use all of Marchuk’s works for 100 years. Formally, the artist was supposed to receive 10,000 UAH in compensation and 5% royalties from revenue, but he never received any money.
Ivan Marchuk’s collection contains more than 5,000 works. The average price of one piece is between 5,000 and 10,000 USD. At auctions, prices are significantly higher: in 2024, the painting The Moon Rose Over the Dnipro sold for 300,000 USD, and in 2022 the canvas Garden of Temptation sold for 120,000 USD.
Despite Apostol’s assurances, notarization of the agreement turned out to be unnecessary. The contract explicitly stated that it was not subject to notarization. It was this claim about the supposed requirement for notarization that led Marchuk and Strypko initially not to doubt the document and sign it.
In a comment to the publication, Ivan Marchuk confirmed his longstanding acquaintance with Mykhailo Apostol and stated that the document had essentially been “slipped” to him. He emphasized that he had received no money, considered the agreement invalid, and is now forced to challenge it in court. The artist also said that immediately after reading the contract, he called Apostol and demanded that he cease any actions under it. However, as later became clear, Apostol, Synytsia, and Pavlenko still consider the agreement valid.
The daughter of former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Serhiy Chebotar — Oksana Chebotar — is a co-owner of the company that initiated the construction of a luxurious hotel in the center of Bukovel.
