Deputy director of Yuzhmash hid assets worth 126 million hryvnia

The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) found that Serhiy Karpenko, Deputy General Director of the Southern Machine-Building Plant, provided inaccurate information in his declaration regarding his property, business assets, cryptocurrency, and financial obligations. The total value of undeclared assets amounted to 126 million hryvnia.

Expensive watches and jewellery without supporting documents

The official's declaration lists valuable items, but official documents confirming their value are missing. Among the items listed are:

• Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Night Day Duoface watch – 412,000 UAH (purchased in 2009)
• Omega DeVille Co-Axial Cronometer watch – 426,000 UAH (purchased in 2009)
• White gold ring with a diamond – 283,000 UAH (purchased in 2005)

Karpenko explained the absence of documents by stating that they had been lost. He also noted that he had assessed the value of these items based on information from the internet, but failed to fulfil his obligation to conduct a new independent appraisal, which he had committed to in 2021.

Business assets and data discrepancies

Karpenko's declaration contains discrepancies in information regarding his business assets. He stated that he owns 33.34% of the capital of "Fargo Realty" LLC (200,000 UAH), however, data from the Unified State Register shows that the corporate rights belong to his wife, and their actual share is 49.99% (170,000 UAH).

Furthermore, on 28 September 2023, Karpenko transferred his share to his wife via a gift agreement, but did not reflect these changes in his declaration.

Discrepancies in cryptocurrency assets

One of the most notable discrepancies was the underreporting of cryptocurrency data. The declaration states that Karpenko owns 1.529 Binance Coin (BNB), however, a check of the Binance crypto exchange showed that his account held 4.147 BNB.

It was also established that the official used a crypto address belonging to the Ethereum network, rather than the Binance Smart Chain, as stated in the documents. Additionally, undeclared assets were found in his possession:

• 27.225 ADNODE (ADD)
• 0.9 I-COIN (ICN)
• 54.45 A2DAO (ATD)
• 27.225 MEET.ONE (MEETONE)
• 6,193.8 WePower (WPR)

The exact value of these assets has not been determined due to the lack of data in open sources.

In addition, other discrepancies were identified in the official's financial balance: an underreporting of crypto assets by 31,534.59 UAH and the listing of non-existent funds in the amount of 362,600 UAH.

Million-hryvnia loans with questionable origins

One of the most suspicious financial operations found in the declaration was the loan of 97.76 million UAH declared by Karpenko to foreign citizen Imran Yusuf. According to the official, this was not a real loan, but a reflection of Yusuf's obligations for the transfer of cryptocurrency assets, allegedly declared back in 2020. However, a check showed that there was no such data in the declaration for that year.

A similar situation arose with another loan – 28.24 million UAH (743,600 USD), transferred to Vasyl Shevchenko. Karpenko claims that the amount is related to a contract concluded in 2015 in the UAE, but he did not provide supporting documents. Moreover, the taxpayer register contains no information about any official income of Shevchenko that could explain such financial obligations.

Karpenko may face criminal liability

The total amount of inaccurate data in the declaration exceeds 126 million UAH, which is grounds for holding the official criminally liable under Part 2 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine ("Declaration of Inaccurate Information").

Source 368.media