Villas, cars and millions in cement: how a top official from Bankova Street lived
16 April 18:17
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The former deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, who held the position from 2019 to 2024, has become a defendant in one of the most high-profile anti-corruption cases in recent months. According to the NABU and the SAPO, these are facts of illicit enrichment, money laundering, and bribery in a particularly large amount through abuse of office, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
According to the investigation, between 2019 and 2021, the suspect illegally received cash, the sources of which he could not explain. Part of these funds – about UAH 6.5 million – he used to build private houses in a prestigious recreational area on the Black Sea coast in Odesa region. The area of the houses, according to investigators, exceeds 300 square meters, and the objects themselves were initially registered to a legal entity associated with the official’s partner.
After he was officially notified in May 2024 of suspicion of illicit enrichment of more than UAH 15.7 million, the property was immediately re-registered to a trustee, which, according to the investigation, indicates an attempt to hide the traces of the crime.
In addition, according to the NABU’s official press release, the top official also owned (without declaring) luxury cars, motorcycles, parking spaces in Kyiv, an apartment in Lviv, and a land plot in Zakarpattia, the total value of which significantly exceeded his official income.
How the suspect received the bribe
In 2022, while no longer in office, but retaining connections and influence, the official, according to the investigation, accepted an offer of undue advantage from the head of a private construction company. It was about services worth USD 100 thousand in the form of work on the completion of one of the official’s estates.
In return, the businessman asked to influence the decision of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, in particular, to cancel the results of the state tender in which the company lost and create conditions for winning a second tender. The official agreed and, according to NABU detectives, used his official connections to achieve the agreed result – the AMCU canceled the previous results.
The official has already been served a notice of suspicion under four articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- ч. 1 of Art. 368-5 – illicit enrichment;
- ч. 1 and 2 of Art. 209 – legalization (laundering) of the proceeds of crime;
- ч. 4 of Art. 368 – obtaining unlawful benefit on a particularly large scale.
In addition to him, the owner of the construction company is also being prosecuted under Part 1 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (giving an undue advantage to an official).
What’s next?
The investigation is ongoing. Law enforcement officers are identifying possible accomplices and persons who could have been involved in money laundering, fictitious registration of property or influence on the activities of government agencies. They are also checking whether officials at other levels could have facilitated the implementation of corruption schemes.
According to open sources, the case was initiated after a journalistic investigation by a leading Ukrainian media outlet, which drew attention to the discrepancy between the lifestyle of the suspect and his declarations.
Context
It is worth noting that the competent authorities are considering the case against the background of a strengthened anti-corruption policy, which is a condition for Ukraine’s continued cooperation with international partners, including the EU and the IMF. The facts presented by the NABU and the SAPO may have serious consequences for both individuals and the image of the authorities as a whole.
