The wealthiest judge in Mykolaiv Oblast holds nearly all of her assets in dollars and cash

The heads of local courts in Mykolaiv Oblast reported over 27 million hryvnias in savings for the year 2025. Most of these funds are held in cash.

These figures were released by journalists from the Center for Public Investigations and Intent, who analyzed 25 declarations filed by court heads in the region.

According to estimates, the total savings of the court heads amount to 27.13 million hryvnias. Of this amount, 23.41 million hryvnias, or 86%, are held in cash.

Galina Podzigun saved the most—9.11 million hryvnias, 3 percent more than last year (8.81 million). Almost all of it is in cash: $122,000 held by the judge herself (5.17 million hryvnias) and another $91,000 held by her husband (3.86 million), with only 84,000 hryvnias in bank accounts.

In second place was Serhiy Shcherbyna, head of the Kazankivsky District Court, with savings of 3.32 million hryvnias. Compared to the previous year, the amount remained virtually unchanged. All funds were also declared in cash.

<picture></picture>

Third place went to Natalia Haponenko, the head of the Berezan District Court . Her savings grew by nearly half, reaching 1.66 million hryvnias. She keeps most of her funds in bank accounts.

Meanwhile, Oleg Vuiv, head of the Voznesensk City and District Court, declared 1.47 million hryvnias, which is 53% less than the previous year. All of his savings are registered under his wife’s name.

The top five also included Olena Repushevska, chair of the Vradiyiv District Court, with savings of 1.3 million hryvnias. She keeps part of the funds in cash and has lent another 800,000 hryvnias to a third party.

At the same time, five court officials in the Mykolaiv region did not declare any savings at all. Among them are Serhiy Yanchuk (Bashtanka), Inna Gukova (Bratsky), Lyudmyla Orlenko, head of the Veselynivsky District Court, Oleksandra Bodrova, head of the Snigurivsky District Court, and Tetiana Marzhina, head of the Pervomaisky City and District Court.

Journalists note that all foreign currency savings were converted into hryvnia at the official exchange rate of the National Bank of Ukraine as of the end of 2025: $1 = 42.39 hryvnia, €1 = 49.86 hryvnia.

Among the heads of courts in the Mykolaiv region, there were both those who owned nearly 400 square meters of housing and judges who did not declare any apartments or houses of their own. 

Андрій Колісніченко