One of the key demands of the EuroMaidan Revolution that toppled corrupt ex-President Viktor Yanukovych in 2014 was to end a fraudulent regime that had robbed the country.
However, the electronic declarations filed on Oct. 30 by the country’s new elite have shown that there’s little difference between the new so-called “anti-oligarchic” regime, and the old one, at least in terms of their wealth.
The country’s top officials own multiple luxury watches, cars, collections of valuable paintings and weapons, Fabergé eggs and even a church, apart from millions in hard cash. Altogether, 410 Ukrainian lawmakers and their family members have declared monetary assets worth Hr 12 billion ($470.3 million), according to Opora, the nation’s largest election monitoring group. And 12 lawmakers didn’t file their declarations, while one, Serhiy Melnychuk, declared a Hr 1 trillion income as a joke.
The revelations caused a public outcry, but the anti-corruption activists believe the filing of the declarations is also a huge step forward in tackling grand political corruption.
Read more: E-declarations are in, now what?
Daria Kaleniuk, who heads the Anti-Corruption Action Center, wrote on Oct. 31, that she could hardly imagine “a similar register working in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, or Kazakhstan – in countries with a similar post-Soviet kleptocratic legacy.”
The Kyiv Post looked into the incomes and possessions declared by Ukraine’s highest officials.
President Petro Poroshenko, who submitted his electronic declaration just a couple of hours before the deadline on Oct. 30, has declared a house in Kozyn, an elite Kyiv suburb, and two other land plots in the same village that total 8,711 square meters. The president earned Hr 49.6 million (nearly $2 million) in 2015, while his official salary was Hr 121,054 ($4,842). Poroshenko owns more than 100 companies in Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Spain, China, Cyprus, the British Virgin Islands and the Netherlands. His other property includes cars, valuable paintings and jewelry.
Read more: Poroshenko’s declaration of assets comes under scrutiny
Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman declared total earnings of Hr 1,487,510 ($58,298) in 2015.
Salary in 2015: Hr 77,270 ($3,030)
Declared cash: $870,000, 460,000 euros and Hr 2.28 million ($91,000).
Groysman, a long-term ally of the president, was appointed prime minister on April 14. He served as the mayor of Vinnytsia from 2006 to 2014. According to his declaration, Groysman owns two land plots in Vinnytsia Oblast and two houses – of 534 and 461.1 square meters.
Together with his wife, Groysman declared 12 watches, including ones made by Boucheron, Ulysse Nardin, Rolex, Breguet, Girard-Perregaux, Parmigiani, and Audemars Piguet – all are the brands that make luxurious watches. Prices for them can climb up to $50,000, depending on the metals used.
For comparison, the most expensive watch that U.S. President Barack Obama was seen wearing was a $1,100 Shinola Runwell watch, which he wears on a plain black leather strap.
Groysman also owns a 2013 Land Rover car.
According to his 2014 declaration, Groysman earned Hr 1,571,471 or $61,589.
Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko earned Hr 182,765 or $7,162 in 2015.
Salary in 2015: Hr 75,562 ($2,963).
Declared cash: Hr 150,000
Lutsenko, the former interior minister and current prosecutor general, declared an apartment in his native Rivne Oblast with a total area of 108.6 square meters, owned jointly with his wife, son and brother. He owns only 20 percent of the apartment, while his wife Iryna Lutsenko, deputy head of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction, owns two apartments in Kyiv – 181 square meters and 92 square meters in size. She also owns a house and land in the town of Dubno in Rivne Oblast.
Lutsenko has a collection of books from the late 19th and early 20th century, and an Ulysse Nardin watch. His wife owns a collection of paintings by contemporary Ukrainian artists from 2006-2011, a Dior bag, and a Breguet watch among other luxury items. She drives a 2014 Mercedes-Benz GL 500 and a 2012 Toyota Camry. Iryna Lutsenko also declared a 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser, which was stolen.
Former investigative journalist turned lawmaker Sergii Leshchenko said on Oct. 23 that Lutsenko “had all his properties signed over stooges,” referring to a palatial residence in downtown Kyiv which, a journalistic investigation has recently uncovered, was owned by Lutsenko’s wife’s accountant. Lutsenko brushed off the accusations. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau has been checking the report.
In 2014, Lutsenko declared Hr 20,138 ($789) as his total income.
Head of the State Fiscal Service Roman Nasirov earned Hr 3,654,499 or $143,226 in 2015.
Salary for 2015: Hr 36,096 ($1,500)
Declared cash: $1,160,000; 450,000 euros; Hr 4,350,000 ($174,000)
A former top manager of investment companies, Nasirov was elected to Ukraine’s parliament in 2014 and has been in charge of the country’s tax and customs agencies since 2015.
Nasirov owns some five land plots in the village of Kozyn, an elite Kyiv suburb where some of the wealthiest Ukrainians live, including President Petro Poroshenko. He also has five apartments in Kyiv, and two houses – one in Kozyn with a total area of 414 square meters, and another one in Vita Poshtova, 18 kilometers south of Kyiv, with an area of 199 square meters.
Other property belonging to Nasirov includes Rolex and Breguet watches. His wife has Rolex, Breguet, Cartier, and Chopard watches. The couple also declared five jewelry sets by De Beers, two Cartier jewelry sets, five sets of Van Cleef and Arpels jewelry, sets of Damiani earrings, and three Hermes bags.
Nasirov also owns four cars, including a 2008 Toyota Camry, a 2013 Lexus LS600, a 2013 Range Rover, a 2014 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 150, and a Harley Davidson motorbike (FLS TFB 1690).
In 2014, Nasirov declared Hr 4,886,235 ($195,500), including his Hr 4,757,040 ($190,280) salary.
National Bank Governor Valeria Gontareva earned Hr 26,827,400 or $1,051,418 in 2015.
Salary for 2015: Hr 1,754,000 ($68,794)
No cash was declared.
Gontareva, who recently topped the list of 100 most influential women compiled annually by Ukrainian magazine Focus, owns a 900-square-meter land plot in Kyiv Oblast, an apartment in Kyiv with a total area of 106 square meters, and a country house (250 square meters).
Gontareva owns a 2012 Porsche Panamera and a 2013 Porsche Cayenne, while her husband drives a 2006 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. She didn’t declare any watches, jewelry or valuable paintings.
Gontareva declared earnings of Hr 26,288,413($1.05 million) in 2014, including a salary of Hr 1.5 million ($60,000). She has worked as the country’s central bank governor since June 19, 2014; she received an income of Hr 24,271,307 ($971,000) from the sale of securities.
Gontareva keeps $1,831,000 in state-run Ukreksimbank, and Hr 61,900 ($2,476) in the state-owned Oschadbank.
Yulia Tymoshenko, head of the Batkivshchyna faction in parliament, earned Hr 156,175 or $6,120 in 2015.
Salary for 2015: Hr 75,616 ($2,963)
Declared cash: Hr 318,000 ($12,720)
Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Tymoshenko also has Hr 485,971 ($19,438) in a deposit account, while her husband – Ukrainian businessman OleksandrTymoshenko – has almost Hr 3 million ($120,000) in Fidobank and also declared $270,000 and Hr 360,000($14,400) in hard cash.
Tymoshenko rents a house with a total area of 588 square meters in the village of Kozyn in Kyiv Obalst,and also declared a 59.4-square-meter apartment in a city of Dnipro (formerly Dnipropetrovsk) which she does not own, reads the declaration.
According to the declaration, Tymoshenko does not own a car, while her husband drives a 2014 Mercedes-Benz GL-350 CDI and a GAZ 14 Chaika, a Soviet business-class car. He also has nine companies, one of which is called Lady Yu, a name referring to his wife.
Other property belonging to Tymoshenko includes Mikimoto pearl earrings, Chanel pearl earrings, a Dinh Van ring, and a Chopard necklace, among other luxurious items.
Tymoshenko’s earned Hr 592,933 or $23,238 in 2014, according to her declaration.
Oleh Berezyuk, head of the Samopomich faction in parliament, earned Hr 351,623 or $13,780 in 2015.
Salary for 2015: Hr 76,504 ($2,998)
Declared cash: $22,000
Berezyuk didn’t declare ownership of any real estate – he rents a 17-square-meter suite in a Kyiv hotel located some 200 meters from the parliament building. Berezyuk’s wife owns two apartments in Lviv, a 186-square-meter house in Lviv Oblast, and a land plot of 520 square meters in the region.
Berezyuk also took a loan from PrivatBankworthHr196,418 ($7,856). He didn’t declare any cars, watches, jewelry or valuable paintings.
In 2014, Berezyuk declared earnings of Hr 1,469,409, or $57,589.
Maksym Burbak, head of People’s Front parliamentary faction, declared earnings of Hr 77,925 or $3,054 in 2015.
Salary for 2015: Hr 77,925 ($3,054)
No cash was declared.
Burbak, a Ukrainian lawmaker with People’s Front, the party of the ex-Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, owns five apartments together with his wife – four in the western Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi, and one in Kyiv.
Burbak’s wife has a house with a total area of 82.6 square meters in the same city, and a land plot. She also declared ownership of two companies.
The declaration revealed that Burbak’s wife also has $30,000, Hr 2.5 million ($100,000) and some 19,000 euros in hard cash. She has also declared funds of more than Hr 1.3 million ($52,000) in Uksybbank. Burbak’s family also declared 11 vehicles (mostly trucks).
In 2014, Burbak declared Hr 123,129 or $4,825 in total income.
Ihor Hryniv, the head of Petro Poroshenko Bloc parliamentary faction, earned Hr 657,956 or $25,786 in 2015.
Salary for 2015: Hr 77,397 ($3,033)
Declared cash: $210,000
Hryniv, the head of President Petro Poroshenko’s faction in parliament, is not a big fan of electronic declarations. On Sept. 29, he submitted a bill seeking to ban public access to major aspects of electronic declarations and abolish criminal responsibility for lying in them. He withdrew the bill after the public outcry.
However, he has submitted his declaration, in which he has declared a house in Kyiv Oblast 577.8 square meters in area, and four land plots, the biggest one with a total area of 3,950 square meters.
Other property belonging to Hryniv includes nine paintings, seven icons dating from the 14th to 17th centuries, and a Vacheron Constantin watch valued at Hr 90,000. He also has antique books, including the “Apostolos”, the first book ever printed in Ukraine in 1574, and the “Ostrog Bible,” one of the earliest East Slavic translations of the Bible, published in Ostroh (on the modern territory of Ukraine) in 1581.
According to the declaration, he owns a 2006 Lexus RX 400 which was stolen from him, and uses his son’s 2015 Audi Q7 that was bought for Hr 1.6 million ($64,000). His wife has a 2010 BMW X1 that was bought for Hr 431,214 ($17,250).
Hryniv declared a Hr 500,000 ($20,000) income from the sale of movable property, but didn’t specify what he sold.
In 2014, Hryniv declared total earnings of Hr 210,697or $8,257.
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov declared earnings of Hr 1,678,414 or $65,780 in 2015.
Salary for 2015: Hr 228,414 ($8,951)
Declared cash: $178,000, 118,000 euros, 2,100 British pounds, and Hr 265,000
Avakov declared owning three apartments in Kharkiv and Kharkiv Oblast, and a land plot with a total area of 1,200 square meters in the village of Korobochkyne in Kharkiv Oblast.
According to his declaration, he has a collection of gold European and American coins from the 19th to the 21st centuries, as well as a 2,652-piece-collection of copper, bronze, silver and gold Ukrainian, Russian, Austro-Hungarian, and ancient Roman coins. He’s also a fine art collector, with a large number of paintings by Ukrainian and foreign artists. Avakov also owns a lithograph by Pablo Picasso, three icons, and three luxury watches, including a Rolex Daytona, a Vacheron Constantin, and a Jaeger LeCoultre. He also has a collection of Mouton-Rothschild wine labels.
Avakov has shares in the Metalist football club. He also owns Avitalias.r.l., a company registered in Italy.
In 2014, Avakov has declared earnings of Hr 222,395 or $8,716 in total.
Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan declared earnings of Hr 800,870 or $31,387 in 2015.
Salary for 2015: Hr 120,870 ($4,737)
Declared cash: $90,000 and 25,000 euros.
Omelyan, who was deputy minister before taking over from his former boss, Infrastructure Minister Andriy Pivovarsky on April 14, has declared a 61.6-square-meter apartment in Kyiv, a land plot in Lviv Oblast, and a garage in Lviv. He co-owns another apartment in Kyiv together with his wife – Ukrainian designer Svitlana Bevza. According to the declaration, she also owns another apartment in Kyiv and rents an office. In 2015, Bevza earned Hr 605,100 ($24,200) as an entrepreneur. Her wage income was Hr 48,392 ($1,935). Bevza also declared owning $70,000 in hard cash.
Omelyan declared earnings of Hr353,376 or $13,849in 2014.
Finance Minister Oleksandr Danylyuk declared earnings of Hr 551,545 or $21,616 in 2015.
Salary for 2015: Hr 177,010 ($6,937)
Declared cash: $155,000
Danylyuk, a former deputy head of the Presidential Administration, took over as a minister of finance on April 14. He declared a land plot of 984 square meters and a house in Kyiv Oblast that totals 290 square meters. According to his declaration, Danyluk and his wife lent some $53,000 to unspecified individuals in 2015.
Danylyuk drives a 2008 BMW X5. His property also includes a 20th century Athos icon of St. Nicholas, a religious painting. His son owns a 19-century Swiss silver watch.
He declared earnings of Hr 127,893 or $5,012 in 2014.
Energy Minister Ihor Nasalyk earned Hr 81,122 or $3,179 in 2015.
Salary for 2015: Hr 81,122
Declared cash: $890,000, 240,000 euros and Hr 4,700,000
Nasalyk declared ownership of a 287.7-square-meter apartment in Kyiv, a house in Kyiv Oblast and four land plots – one in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast and three in Kyiv Oblast.
Other property belonging to Nasalyk includes 11 watches by brands like Richard Mille, a Franc Vila Cobra, Сvstos, Corum, Audemars Piguet, Tiffany and Franck Muller. His wife has declared a Chanel watch, a StaurinoFratelli ring and a Carrera y Carrera necklace. They also own Italian and Dutch paintings and six antique bronze and marble statues.
Nasalyk drives a 2007 Mercedes-Benz S500L.
According to his 2014 declaration, he earned Hr147,163 or $5,767.
Khatia Dekanoidze, the chief of the National Police, declared earnings of Hr 3,520,606 or $137,979 in 2015.
Salary for 2015: Hr 88,760 or $3,478 (National Police) and Hr 3,431,846 or $134,500 (MPRI International Services LTD).
No cash was declared.
Dekanoidze, a former Georgian education minister and the former head of Georgia’s main police academy, took over as the head of Ukraine’s new National Police force in November 2015. She has declared three apartments in Georgia – the biggest one totals 129 square meters – and a 1,800-square-meter land plot. In Kyiv, she rents a 60-square-meter apartment and drives a 2012 Hyundai Elantra that was bought for Hr 103,129 in 2013 ($12,800).
Dekanoidze also has Hr 33,231 or $1,302 in PrivatBank. She didn’t declare ownership of any paintings or jewelry.
E-declarations are in. Now what?
The deadline for Ukrainian officials to file their online asset declarations passed on Oct. 30. Over the next seven days they are allowed to file updated versions of their e-declarations to correct any mistakes they may have made.
Meanwhile, according to the legislation, each state body has to appoint a responsible person, to check whether the body’s employees filed their declarations in time.
The National Agency for Preventing Corruption will monitor this process.
Any official who missed the deadline could face a fine of up to Hr 51,000 ($2,000), from 150 to 240 hours of community service work, or imprisonment for up to two years.
According to Sasha Drik, the head of the Declarations Under Control civic watchdog, “it will be necessary to prove first that the officially deliberately failed to meet the deadline, however.”
If that can’t be proven, the official will just pay the fine.
The next step for the National Agency for Preventing Corruption will be to conduct several types of checks on the officials’ e-declarations.
These will include an analysis of the data according to a set of specific rules. However, these have not been stipulated in the legislation and are still being drawn up by the National Agency for Preventing Corruption.
According to Drik, this check will verify, for instance, whether the overall expenses in an official’s declaration match their overall income.
Another one is a full examination, performed with the use of property registers. The declarations subjected to this type of examination will be those made by top officials, including the president, ministers and members of parliament. The National Agency for Preventing Corruption will also perform a full examination of any declarations that have been flagged as suspicious by journalists, civil society, or other concerned parties.
A person who lies in a declaration could face either disciplinary actions or criminal charges, depending on the value of the assets concealed. If this amount exceeds Hr 304,500 ($11,940), the National Anti-Corruption Bureau will take over the investigation of the case.
Drik told the Kyiv Post she hoped to “see first results” by the end of the year.
“At least (this will be) cases sent to the courts: maybe not verdicts, but at least court proceedings,” she said.
