The declarations of Ukrainian customs officials have once again sparked a scandal. This time, the focus is on Sergey Zvyagintsev, the head of the State Customs Service, and his subordinate Dmitry Padun, the director of the Department of Customs Payments Control and Administration (often referred to as the "Tariff Department").
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SubscribeTheir incomes and lifestyle have raised many questions among law enforcement and journalists, reports "StopCor".
Recently, the unemployed wife of Sergey Zvyagintsev purchased a new car valued at over one and a half million hryvnias. Everything would be fine, but the family's official income is not that substantial.
"How is it possible that over eight years he has not declared a single income for his wife, apart from a gift, presumably from her father, amounting to 600,000 UAH? And how did this housewife manage to save 51,000 dollars and over 40,000 euros? If we add up all the cash assets owned by Alena Zvyagintseva, the total exceeds 4 million UAH," journalists are asking.
The family may have other assets not mentioned. For instance, an apartment in the center of Kyiv that his wife bought in 2008, and a neighboring apartment purchased by her father in 2019. However, according to neighbors, the family has not lived there for a long time.
Two weeks before the full-scale invasion, Sergey Zvyagintsev bought a car for nearly 2 million hryvnias. A very similar vehicle was spotted at his father-in-law's house in a gated community in Kyiv Oblast. Realtors estimate the value of such a house with land and infrastructure to be between 250,000 and half a million dollars.
Perhaps the house actually belongs to the family, and the 4 million hryvnias were saved honestly. But many questions remain unanswered, as neither Sergey Zvyagintsev nor his wife have responded, ignoring calls from journalists.
Dmitry Padun is also keeping pace with his boss. Searches were conducted at his place, and over 100,000 dollars in cash were found stored in his home and car. According to his declaration, Padun and his wife had only 175,000 hryvnias and some foreign currency, far from the hundred thousand "greenbacks." A logical question arises: where did such large amounts of cash come from?
"This year we sold two cars and an apartment. Now we are going to sell the house. We are moving to Kyiv. This money is legitimate. I will prove this to my law enforcement colleagues. And I do not consider myself involved in corruption scandals. The apartments and cars are not in my name," explains Padun.
There is nothing mentioned about the sale of the apartment in the 2023 declaration.
Padun has worked for several years in the Central Office of the State Customs Service in Kyiv, but has not officially declared any housing in the capital. Investigators became interested in where he actually resides since commuting from Dnipro to Kyiv for work daily is clearly not practical.
After two hours of surveillance on the official, journalists discovered that he lives in the elite residential complex "Park Avenue" in Kyiv, which offers everything for comfortable living – from sports and children's playgrounds to restaurants, fitness clubs, swimming pools, and spas.
This residential complex is known for its exclusivity and security system, but journalists managed to find out that this is most likely where Padun resides.
Padun's cars have been registered at his parking spaces for a month, and realtors claim that renting such an apartment could cost up to 5,000 dollars per month.