Zakarpattia customs official unable to explain UAH 307m in assets

The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) identified violations in the asset declaration of Serhiy Duran, deputy head of the mobile scanning systems department of the technical means management for customs control at the Zakarpattia Customs. The official was unable to justify the origin of his assets and also undervalued the cost of real estate owned by his family.

The total amount of discrepancies amounted to UAH 307m. The audit covered Duran's reports for 2022 and 2023.

Undervalued real estate

The declaration contained inaccurate data regarding several real estate objects. In particular, the value of land plots with non-residential premises was undervalued:

• 25 sq m + 18.8 sq m
  • Declared value: UAH 290,366
  • Actual value per the purchase and sale agreement: UAH 580,732
• 36 sq m + 19.2 sq m
  • Declared value: UAH 287,338
  • Actual value: UAH 574,676

Furthermore, the declaration completely lacks information about a 42.8 sq m apartment purchased by a family member in 2017 for UAH 87,740.

Millions without explanation

The financial reports raised the most questions for the anti-corruption bodies. According to the declaration, Serhiy Duran owns EUR 140,000 and USD 216,500 (equivalent to UAH 14.13m). However, the audit revealed that his official income did not allow him to accumulate such a sum. The official himself did not provide any documents confirming the origin of the funds.

The situation with his wife, Yelena Stehura, is even more mysterious. Her property includes:

• EUR 2.7m,
• USD 3.15m,
• UAH 77.5m.

The total volume of funds reflected in the declaration is UAH 311.1m. Meanwhile, her income for 2023 was only UAH 6.7m, while her expenses were UAH 1.25m. Even with maximum savings, she could have accumulated no more than UAH 3.8m.

NACP calculations showed that the Duran family's actual savings cannot exceed UAH 18.53m, which is significantly lower than the declared UAH 311m. The official and his wife were unable to explain the origin of the funds, and requests from the anti-corruption agency went unanswered.

Potential criminal prosecution

Fictitious information in the declaration falls under Part 2 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The decision on whether to hold Serhiy Duran liable now rests with the law enforcement agencies.