Law enforcement agents are investigating Serhiy Zvyagintsev, the interim head of Ukraine's State Customs Service, over suspicions that Zvyagintsev failed to declare a home near Kyiv, that has been evaluated to be worth over $100,000, the country's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said on Jan. 6.
Investigators believe that Zvyagintsev and his family are the actual owners of a 236 square meter home, as well as an adjacent plot of land, on the outskirts of Kyiv that is registered under Zvyagintsev's father-in-law.
Investigators allege that Zvyagintsev failed to declare the assets between 2021 and 2023.
The system of compulsory asset declarations was originally instituted as part of the country's fight against corruption following the 2013-2014 EuroMaidan Revolution. At the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, the requirement for submitting e-declarations was suspended.
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law in October 2023 to resume asset declarations for officials and immediately make them publicly accessible.
Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) re-opened access to the asset declaration system in December 2023.
An investigation, conducted by NABU as well as the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) is ongoing as Zvyagintsev faces charges under Ukraine's Criminal Code.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
(Updated: )
