Mayor of Pervomaisk to be tried for false declarations worth 5 million

Law enforcers have completed the investigation and brought the case of the mayor of Pervomaisk to court. The official is accused of submitting knowingly false information in his declaration. According to the investigation, the amount of undeclared assets and property exceeds UAH 5.3 million.

According to the regional prosecutor's office, the official is charged with a violation under the article on entering false information in the declaration.

According to the investigation, the mayor failed to indicate a significant part of his wife's property and financial obligations in the reporting document, which is a direct violation of anti-corruption legislation.

In particular, the mayor's declaration omitted information on the value of real estate, monetary assets and other financial liabilities totaling more than UAH 5.3 million. The official was served a notice of suspicion of committing this offense on October 22, after which evidence of his intent to conceal his assets was collected.

The case will now be considered on its merits. Oleg Demchenko's actions are classified under Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. If the mayor's guilt is proven in court, he faces up to two years in prison with the deprivation of the right to hold certain positions.

Another case in the region is that of Bashtanka mayor Oleksandr Berehovoi. The official is accused of embezzling more than UAH 1.2 million of budget funds that were intended to purchase clothing for military personnel. Unlike the declaration cases, this is a much more serious crime, punishable by imprisonment for a term of 7 to 12 years.

The process of choosing a preventive measure was accompanied by a number of delays: first, due to the recusal of the judge, and later due to the deterioration of the suspect's health, who was called an ambulance directly to the courtroom. Eventually, on September 4, the court ruled that the mayor be held in custody with the possibility of bail in the amount of UAH 1.1 million. A few days later, Oleksandr Berehovoi was released from the pre-trial detention center, as his wife paid the required bail.

Катерина Глушко