A new head of the Trade Department has been appointed in Odessa

Igor Koval, Acting Mayor of Odesa and Secretary of the City Council, has appointed Sargis Ovsepyan as Acting Head of the Odesa City Council’s Department of Consumer Market Development and Consumer Protection.

The corresponding order No. 1170K was signed on July 30. He will assume his duties on August 3. He will lead the department on an interim basis until a permanent head is appointed in accordance with the law.

According to the candidate’s declaration, submitted on July 29, 2026, Sargis Ovsepyan worked in 2025 at the municipal institution “Odesa City Council Municipal Trade Development Service,” where he received a salary of 292,500 hryvnias. He also declared an additional 6,100 hryvnias in salary received from the Odesa City Military Administration.

However, the family’s main income came from his wife, Valeria Aleksandruk. She declared 3.61 million hryvnias in income from business activities and 2.36 million hryvnias from the sale of real estate.

The family’s real estate holdings include three apartments: a 77-square-meter apartment used by the family; a 67.8-square-meter apartment owned by the Odesa City Council and provided for their use; and a 41.1-square-meter apartment owned by his wife.

The only vehicle listed in the declaration is a 2018 Porsche Cayenne, which belongs to the official’s wife.

The family’s cash assets total $155,000: Sargis Ovsepyan declared $10,000, and his wife declared another $145,000.

Sargis Ovsepyan’s name has already been mentioned in the media. In February 2022, during searches at the Department of Consumer Market Development and Consumer Protection of the Odessa City Council, a number of publications, citing sources in law enforcement agencies, reported that investigators were looking into the possible involvement of certain department employees in alleged corruption schemes, among whom Hovsepyan was named.

At the same time, there is no publicly available information regarding Sargis Ovsepyan being notified of his status as a suspect, the filing of an indictment with the court, or a guilty verdict in this criminal proceeding.

Андрій Колісніченко