NACP finds violations in senior Interior Ministry official's declaration

The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) found inaccurate data in the declaration of Hennadii Pohorielov, deputy head of the Interior Ministry's regional service centre for Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kherson oblasts. The total amount of discrepancies amounted to UAH 48.8 million.

Real estate: suspicious transactions and lack of supporting documents

The NACP review revealed discrepancies in data regarding real estate, including properties in Ukraine, Crimea and Turkey.

— A land plot in Mykolaiv (524 sq m) – the declared value was UAH 339,000, but the cadastral number is not confirmed in the registers.
— An apartment in Yalta (119.1 sq m) – purchased in 2012 for UAH 461,000, but no supporting documents were provided.
— A garage in Yalta (31 sq m) – the declared value was UAH 118,500, but there is no documentary evidence.
— An apartment in Antalya, Turkey (119 sq m) – the declared value was UAH 1.39 million, but the NACP could not confirm the market price or the registration number.

Cars: misrepresentation of information

The official listed two cars in his declaration, but the NACP found discrepancies:

— VOLVO XC 40, registered to his wife, was listed in the declaration as a 2021 model purchased on 12 January 2022. However, the registers show that it was manufactured in 2022 and purchased on 13 January.
— SKODA OCTAVIA A7, which he uses free of charge, has an incorrectly stated VIN code, which may indicate possible manipulation with the registration.

Luxury watches and questionable origin

The declaration lists Vacheron Constantin Genève and Breguet 1480 watches, allegedly acquired before the submission of the first declaration. However, documents confirming the purchase or gift are missing. The official himself explained their origin as a "gift from the family" ("подарком от семьи").

Bitcoin cryptocurrency: a confusing story of disappearance

Pohorielov declared 81 bitcoins, purchased in 2015 for UAH 810,000. However, the review revealed that only 14 bitcoins have a confirmed transaction history, while the fate of the remaining 66 remains unknown.

The official claims that the cryptocurrency was stored in two "cold" wallets, one of which was allegedly lost by his wife during the evacuation from Mykolaiv in 2022. However, a theft report was only filed in June 2024 – two years after the alleged loss of the asset.

According to judicial practice, the absence of a public key is not an obstacle to recovering cryptocurrency if its owner actually possesses the private key. In this regard, the NACP has cast doubt on the truthfulness of the official's explanations.

Cash: discrepancies in income

The declaration lists USD 128,000, UAH 850,000 and EUR 34,000 in cash. Pohorielov explained the origin of these funds as income since 1989. However, an analysis of tax data showed that:

— The official's total income for 1998–2022 amounted to UAH 2.86 million.
— His wife's income for the same period was UAH 16.58 million.

Given the family's level of expenditure, official income cannot explain the possession of such large cash sums.

Possible consequences

The review materials have been transferred for legal assessment under Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine ("Declaration of inaccurate information"). If found guilty, Pohorielov faces:

— a fine of up to UAH 85,000,
— restriction of liberty,
— a ban on holding state positions.

The NACP continues its investigation into the official, including checking for possible corruption schemes related to his activities.