13 January 2025
(PHOTO: AI)
During the NACP's review of the declarations, only one of all the reports reviewed had no violations. In general, all errors were related to incorrectly stated amounts. 30% of the officials "made a mistake" by an average of UAH 15 million.
The Center for Public Investigations reminded which officials in Mykolaiv region tried to hide their financial statements.
The NACP found dubious assets worth over UAH 12 million and signs of declaring false information worth over UAH 3 million in the declaration of Ochakiv Mayor Serhii Bychkov. In 2022, the official and his wife bought an apartment in Spain with an area of 122.31 square meters worth more than UAH 5 million.
In addition, he allegedly received gifts in cash from his mother worth more than UAH 12 million. "The donated funds significantly exceed the mother's legal income, which since 1998 has amounted to just over 580 thousand hryvnias," the NACP noted.
"The income of the mayor of Ochakov and his wife from confirmed sources also did not allow them to buy an apartment in Spain. Moreover, in his declaration, the official, among other things, noted an increase in monetary assets by UAH 2 million in the reporting period, the legality of the sources of which he did not confirm during the audit.
Law enforcement also suspects the current MP from Mykolaiv, Iryna Kormyshkina, of illicit enrichment. According to the SAPO, in 2021-2022, the MP received assets that significantly exceed her official income, which amounted to about UAH 2.7 million. At the same time, she used this money to buy a house near Odesa, where she now lives. Recently, the NABU and the SAPO notified the MP of suspicion of entering false information in her e-declaration.
Gennadiy Pogorelov, deputy head of the Regional Service Center of the MIA's Main Service Center in Mykolaiv region, declared in his 2021 declaration the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, which was worth UAH 100 million in hryvnia equivalent at the end of the reporting period. In his declaration for 2022, the official reported having cryptocurrency worth more than UAH 48 million.
At the same time, Pogorelov could not confirm the presence of some of the cryptocurrency. He explained this by saying that his crypto wallet and the key to it had been stolen. As for the other part of the asset, the official provided documents that did not confirm the veracity of the declared information.
And the income declarations of Mykolaiv Deputy Mayor Serhiy Korenev do not contain information about the jewelry of his wife Yulia Koreneva. The Love bracelet costs from 4 to 17 thousand euros, depending on the diamond setting, which cannot be estimated from a photo on social media. A nail bracelet from Cartier can cost up to 25 thousand euros, and a nail ring - up to 5 thousand euros. When asked by journalists why her husband did not declare her jewelry, the woman did not want to answer. The official himself said that he did not know what kind of jewelry his wife was buying, because she was self-sufficient.
The former head of the Mykolaiv City State Medical Examiner's Office is also suspected of making false declarations. At the end of October 2024, law enforcement officers searched the home of Vira Bilyakova and her son as part of an investigation into a mobilization evasion scheme. They found more than $450,000, jewelry and three apartments not listed in the declaration, registered in her son's name.
In addition, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian MPs, officials and law enforcement officers have purchased foreign real estate worth more than UAH 2 billion. Among the new owners of property abroad are a deputy of the Mykolaiv City Council and relatives of local law enforcement officers.
Last year, a large-scale scandal broke out in the prosecutor's office: prosecutors were issuing fictitious disabilities to receive payments. Law enforcement officers from Mykolaiv region were also involved. Recently, the Chief Prosecutor of the region, Denys Falchenko, set an example for his colleagues on how to get their pension payments increased. Currently, four other heads of prosecutor's offices in the region receive pensions.
As you can see, officials, trying to come up with new ways to conceal their dubious wealth, often provide false information in their declarations. Or they do not indicate that they own anything at all, since they do not have confirmation of the legitimacy of the sources of their funds.
Анна Бальчінос