$653,000 in grandmother’s garage: prosecutor’s office opens case against head of State Environmental Inspection
20 February 11:48
The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has opened criminal proceedings against Oleksandr Subbotenk, acting head of the State Environmental Inspection of Ukraine. The reason for this was possible inaccuracies in his 2024 declaration, in particular the story about $653,000 that the official allegedly found in the garage of his deceased grandmother. This was reported by the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office, citing the findings of the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NAZK), according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
Criminal proceedings initiated over declaration
According to the prosecutor’s office, the criminal proceedings were entered into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations after a full check of the official’s declaration for 2024.
NAZK found that the information in the declaration may differ from the actual amount by more than UAH 26.7 million, which significantly exceeds the threshold of liability established by law.
The prosecutor’s office noted that the following are being verified:
- the circumstances of the acquisition of assets;
- the legality of the origin of the funds;
- the consistency of the official’s explanations with the actual data;
- the authenticity of the declared property.
This concerns a possible violation under Part 2 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (declaration of inaccurate information).
The story of $653,000: the official’s version
During the verification of the declaration, Oleksandr Subbottenko stated that he found $653,000 in cash in his grandmother’s garage after her death.
According to the official, the money belonged to his grandmother and grandfather, who allegedly followed a “family rule” of keeping their savings in dollars.
He explained that the money had been accumulated over many years and was kept as a financial safety net.
NAZK’s position: relatives could not have accumulated such funds
The National Agency for Corruption Prevention questioned this version.
The results of the investigation established that:
- the official’s grandparents had no confirmed income that would allow them to accumulate such an amount;
- there is no documentary evidence of the origin of the funds;
- there are significant discrepancies between the declaration and the actual data.
The woman officially worked as a technical secretary of the Kharkiv Regional Committee of the Leninist Communist Youth League, and after retiring in 1984, she did not engage in any entrepreneurial activity, nor was she the founder or beneficial owner of any legal company.
The full audit materials include a copy of the will, which does not contain any information about any funds that Subbotenkova’s grandmother had. Instead, the official stated that part of the funds were received from the sale of an apartment, but this amounted to only $11,000.
Subbottenko also wanted to “legalize” the funds “found in his grandmother’s garage” through the court. However, by a decision of the Kominternivskyi District Court of Kharkiv dated February 11, 2022 (case No. 641/8971/21), the claim for recognition of ownership of the funds by inheritance under the law was denied.
The court stated explicitly that “these funds may constitute treasure” and emphasized that the plaintiff had not provided any evidence of the existence of these funds or that they belonged to his grandmother.
What property raised questions in the declaration
In addition to cash, the NACP audit revealed inconsistencies regarding other property owned by the official:
- an apartment in Kharkiv with an area of 65.2 square meters;
- an apartment in Kyiv;
- a garage in Kharkiv with an area of 32.1 square meters;
- parking spaces in Kyiv.
According to the official, it was in one of the garages that $653,000 was found.
What is the liability under the law?
If the official is found guilty, he could face:
- criminal liability;
- a fine or restriction of liberty;
- prohibition from holding public office.
The investigation is ongoing, and law enforcement agencies are establishing the origin of the funds and examining all the circumstances of the case.
Fighting corruption: new checks on declarations
This case is part of a broader anti-corruption effort in Ukraine aimed at verifying officials’ declarations and identifying illegal assets.
Law enforcement agencies emphasize that accurate income declarations are a key element of transparency in public service.
