Former Poltava Region Police Officials Are Suspected of Concealing Assets Worth Millions

The State Bureau of Investigations has concluded its investigation into two former police chiefs in the Poltava region. Law enforcement officials verified whether their wealth corresponded to their official incomes and whether they had declared all their assets in their financial disclosure statements.

The investigation was prompted, in particular, by the results of a lifestyle monitoring study conducted by the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption. According to the investigation, both former officials may have concealed real estate by registering it in other people’s names while continuing to use the property themselves.

A Cottage in the Name of a Subordinate’s Mother-in-Law and an Apartment Through “eOselya”

The first suspect is a former deputy police chief of the Poltava region. According to the investigation, between 2023 and 2025, he acquired assets worth over 11 million hryvnias. Law enforcement officials claim that the value of these assets significantly exceeded his legal income. Investigators believe that to conceal the property, the former official registered it in other people’s names while continuing to use it himself.

Among the assets identified is a plot of land with a cottage in Poltava. It was registered in the name of the mother-in-law of one of the former law enforcement officer’s subordinates. In other words, formally, someone else was the owner of the property. Another case involves an apartment in a new building, which was purchased under the government’s “eOselya” program. According to investigators, another subordinate of the former official was involved in the purchase.

In addition to real estate, law enforcement officials discovered a Suzuki car, expensive household appliances, and other property. At the same time, the former official did not disclose the full extent of his assets in his declarations. Instead, according to the investigation, he reported an increase in his cash savings. The former deputy police chief is charged with illicit enrichment and providing false information in his asset declarations. The charges fall under Article 368-5 and Part 1 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The house was registered in his father’s name, and his expenses exceeded his income by millions

The second suspect is the former head of one of the police departments in the Poltava region. According to investigators, he registered a plot of land with a residential house in Poltava in his father’s name. However, law enforcement officials claim that it was the former official himself who handled the purchase of the property and oversaw its renovation. He negotiated the purchase, organized the construction work, approved materials and expenses, and monitored payments.

During an audit, the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NAZK) compared the expenses related to the property with the income of the former official’s parents. During the period under review, they earned approximately 477,000 UAH. At the same time, they spent significantly more on the purchase and renovation of the house and land—the amount exceeded their income by more than 6.1 million UAH. The former law enforcement officer himself declared approximately 687,000 UAH in income for 2023. Based on the results of its analysis, the NACP determined that there was a shortfall of more than 2.9 million UAH in legitimate funds to account for the identified expenses.

Although, according to the investigation, the former official effectively controlled the property, neither the house nor the land plot appeared in his declarations for 2023–2025. In this case, the former police chief is charged with declaring false information under Part 1 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

What the defendants face

Both former officials are also implicated in another criminal proceeding by the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR), which is currently before the court. The completion of the pre-trial investigation means that investigators have finished gathering evidence at this stage. However, this does not in itself mean that the defendants’ guilt has been proven. That must be determined by the court.

All of the circumstances described above represent the investigation’s version of events. A final decision regarding the liability of the former law enforcement officials will be made in accordance with the law. This information was provided by the State Bureau of Investigations. 

We should add that the sale of 15 vehicles, imported as aid for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was uncovered in the country.

Prior to this, top customs officials were exposed for a scheme involving the trading of positions to evade mobilization.

Earlier, Svitlana Yukhta, head of the Customs Valuation Division of the State Customs Service’s Tariff Department, traveled to London and submitted her resignation effective October 1.

Mykhailo Svida, the former head of the Zakarpattia Customs Office, was not convicted of tax evasion. The Uzhhorod City and District Court acquitted him of criminal charges and closed the case after he paid more than 7.4 million hryvnias to the state budget.