Photo: National Police of Ukraine.
The former head of a department of the State Treasury of Ukraine has been found to have assets worth more than USD 61 million in Poltava region. According to the National Police, the assets found include tens of millions of dollars in cash and precious metals in bullion worth more than UAH 38 million. It is noteworthy that the official allegedly inherited these funds from his parents, but operatives found that a relative, a lieutenant general of the Russian Federation Armed Forces, helped him withdraw the money, TimeUkraineIsrael reports, citing the press service of the National Police of Ukraine.
Evidence of illicit enrichment and money laundering schemes
According to law enforcement officials, in 2023, the official received an inheritance from his mother, which included precious metals and cash that did not correlate with his official income. Later, in October of the same year, he received more than $56 million from his father, as well as precious metals worth more than UAH 34 million. However, in the declaration, these amounts were significantly higher than the actual inheritance, which raised suspicions.
Asset seizures and searches
The operatives, together with the Prosecutor’s Office, conducted more than 30 authorised searches in the residences, garages and vehicles belonging to the former official and his relatives. During the searches, a significant amount of jewellery, gold coins, weapons, as well as awards from Russia belonging to his relative were seized. This confirms that these assets may be the result of corruption schemes in which the head of the department facilitated money laundering through Ukrainian jurisdiction.
Possible criminal charges
Based on the collected evidence, law enforcement officers are considering serving a notice of suspicion to the official under Articles 366-2 (Declaring false information), 368-5 (Illegal enrichment) and 209 (Legalisation of the proceeds of crime) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The investigation is ongoing.
