Attempt to sell did not help: VAKS put an end to the case of Odessa customs officers
28 January 21:36
The Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) upheld the decision of the court of first instance, which ruled that the assets of the Odessa customs officers’ spouses, amounting to UAH 8.5 million, were unjustified and should be confiscated by the state.
This was reported bythe National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NAZK), according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
Who is affected by the decision
It concerns:
- the head of the Odessa customs department,
- the chief state inspector of the same customs office,
- their son, the deputy head of the district council in the Kyiv region.
The court concluded that the assets used by the family did not correspond to their official income.
What assets were deemed unjustified
According to the NACP, in 2021:
- the customs officers’ spouses purchased an apartment in Odesa with an area of 103.8 square meters,
- their son purchased a 105.5 sq. m apartment in Kyiv and a 2018 Toyota RAV-4 Hybrid car.
Ownership of this property was registered to a close relative born in 1937.
As established
The court decision was based on the results of lifestyle monitoring conducted by the NACP.
The agency established that:
- the family’s legal income and savings did not allow them to purchase such property,
- after the monitoring began, the real estate and car were urgently sold,
- the total value of assets recognized as unjustified is UAH 8.5 million.
Legal consequences
The decision of the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court:
- takes effect from the moment of its announcement,
- finally confirms the confiscation of assets to the state,
- confirms the legality of the conclusions of the NACP and the court of first instance.
This decision is part of a broader practice of applying the mechanism of civil confiscation of unjustified assets, which allows for the seizure of property without a criminal conviction if it is proven to be inconsistent with the legitimate income of officials.
In recent months, the High Anti-Corruption Court has issued a number of similar decisions regarding the assets of officials at various levels, registered to relatives or related persons.
