A relative in the Russian Federation, precious metals and millions in cash: National Police conducts searches of civil servant
15 November 2024 21:18
Assets worth more than $60 million were found on a former State Treasury official in Poltava region. This is reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to the official Telegram channel of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
According to investigators, in his declaration for 2023, the former official of the Main Department of the State Treasury Service of Ukraine in Poltava region indicated more than USD 60 million and UAH 550 thousand in cash, precious metals in bullion valued at UAH 38 million. He allegedly inherited some of the property from his parents.
The prosecutor’s office is currently checking the sources of acquisition of these assets, including from relatives who hold public office in Russia.
Law enforcement officers have already conducted more than 30 searches in this case. They have seized cash, gold commemorative coins, expensive watches, firearms and hunting weapons, Russian awards and other valuables.
Meanwhile, the National Police clarified that, according to intelligence, the former official was helped to withdraw the money by a relative, a lieutenant general of the Russian Armed Forces.
He received the money from corruption schemes and used it to finance “investment” projects in Russia and the temporarily occupied territories of Luhansk and Donetsk regions, and the head of the department helped him legalize it in Ukraine.
In the coming days, the former official will be served suspicion notices of declaring false information, illicit enrichment, and money laundering.
The Prosecutor General’s Office and the National Police are not disclosing the suspect’s personal data. However, the regional media outlet Poltavshchyna reported that it was a former official of the city council and the regional treasury, Ihor Veriga. The main department of the Treasury in Poltava region explained that Veriga was no longer an employee, and the NACP had not officially contacted him about his declaration.
Ihor Veriga, according to media reports, is the brother of Poltava businessman Lev Veriga, who left for Russia with his wife Oksana, the daughter of Russian General Valery Kapashin, on the eve of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war. The businessmen’s family continues to do business and pay taxes to the Russian budget.
It is worth noting that Valery Kapashin himself also came to the attention of the SBU. In March 2023, the agency launched a pre-trial investigation into the legalization of money that Colonel-General Valeriy Kapashyn illegally received while serving in the Russian army, after which he purchased real estate in Poltava. Law enforcement officials believe that in order to hide the monetary assets, they were registered in the name of the Russian military officer’s daughter and son-in-law: they did so by registering private enterprises in their names.
What’s wrong with Ihor Veriga’s declaration
In October 2024, regional media drew attention to the fact that Veriga and his wife Olga declared cash in excess of $62 million.
Ihor Veriga’s savings increased due to his inheritance. In April 2023, the civil servant declared UAH 5 million 920 thousand in foreign currency and UAH 3 million 550 thousand in bullion from his mother, Justyna Veriga. The woman was a professor at the Department of Finance at Poltava Polytechnic. Then in October, the civil servant declared an inheritance from his father Orest Veriga – UAH 56 million 175 thousand in foreign currency and UAH 34 million 500 thousand in precious metals.
