Former Odessa City Council Official Found Guilty
A former head of a department in the Odessa City Council has been convicted of filing false asset declarations totaling approximately 9.5 million Ukrainian hryvnias (UAH) and sentenced to a fine. The Rozdilna District Court of the Odessa region delivered the verdict, finding the official guilty of declaring inaccurate information under Part 1 of Article 366-2 of Ukraine's Criminal Code. This case is part of Ukraine's ongoing, high-stakes anti-corruption drive, which is critical for its European integration efforts.
The court established that the official failed to declare real estate worth over 2.8 million UAH in her 2022 declaration. In her 2023 declaration, she concealed assets exceeding 3.1 million UAH, which included:
- two apartments (44.7 sq.m. in the village of Kryzhanivka, Odessa region, and 74.8 sq.m. in the city of Odessa),
- six land plots in the Odessa and Mykolaiv regions,
- a 2011 LAND ROVER RANGE ROVER valued at 300,000 UAH,
- a 2012 SCANIA truck,
- corporate rights in two farming enterprises and a limited liability company, collectively valued at over 500,000 UAH.
According to the court's decision, the official was sentenced to a fine of 68,000 UAH and barred from holding certain public offices for three years. The information for this case was reportedly provided by Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NAZK).
Corruption Cases Involving Other Officials
Separately, details have emerged regarding corruption cases involving other officials. Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) exposed two high-ranking officials of regional administrations who demanded a bribe of over $600,000 from the head of a monopoly company in the amber business. According to law enforcement, the organizers of the scheme demanded $620,000 with a promise to close a criminal investigation. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered a purge of corrupt elements from the SBU.
Furthermore, on February 23, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) detained an employee of the SBU's Main Directorate in Kyiv and the Kyiv region, suspected of receiving an unlawful benefit of $68,000. These events signal an intensification of the fight against corruption at all levels of government.
The corruption situation in Ukraine remains a serious problem requiring a comprehensive solution. The conviction of the former Odessa City Council official is just one of many cases demonstrating the need for stricter oversight and enforcement of anti-corruption legislation.
In a related case highlighting ongoing issues of transparency among public officials, a Ukrainian court has recently convicted a local deputy for failing to declare assets valued at approximately $110,000. This conviction underscores the broader challenges faced by Ukraine in its fight against corruption and the importance of accurate financial disclosures. For more details on this case, see the full story here.