The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NAZK) began monitoring Energoatom President Petro Kotin over suspicious property purchases by his mother-in-law, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on Jan. 5, citing a letter from the agency.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's investigation project Schemes reported on Dec. 21 that Kotin's mother-in-law bought a house and land worth Hr 7 million ($183,000) near Kyiv and plots of land in Kyiv Oblast worth almost Hr 1 million ($26,260) during the full-scale war without having an official income.
According to the investigation, Kotin himself has settled in the house registered to his mother-in-law.
In a written response to Schemes, the Energoatom president claimed that his 70-year-old mother-in-law accumulated funds for the purchase by 50 years of savings, cash from close relatives, and loans.
The NAZK began monitoring Kotin following an appeal by a group of lawmakers from the opposition Holos (Voice) party, including Zhelezniak.
"The national agency is monitoring the lifestyle of P.B. Kotin, and the facts stated in your appeal will be taken into account," the agency's letter read.
Part of the NAZK's responsibilities is monitoring discrepancies between officials' standard of living and declared income to determine potential illicit revenue sources and other violations.
The state-owned Energoatom is the operator of Ukraine's four nuclear power plants, one of which – Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant – remains under Russian occupation.
Formerly a director of the Zaporizhzhia plant, Kotin headed Energoatom since 2020, being formally appointed as its president two years later.
Oleksandr Kalitenko
(Updated: )
