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An analysis of declarations conducted by journalists from the publication "Odeske Zhyttia" (Odesa Life) revealed numerous gifts to relatives of Vitaliy Cherkunov, First Deputy Head of Odesa Customs, and his son Oleksandr, who works in the central apparatus of the State Customs Service. Based on the review of documents for 2020–2025, members of this family received over UAH 830,000 in cash, a Range Rover, and several real estate objects. The editorial team has so far been unable to establish the sources of income of the donors themselves.
According to published data, a significant portion of the funds was transferred by Tamara Cherkunova, who was 87 years old at the time of the investigation. Over six years, she gifted Vitaliy Cherkunov, his wife Lyudmyla, and grandson Oleksandr a sum exceeding UAH 250,000. Separately, in 2020, Vitaliy Cherkunov declared receiving UAH 72,000 from Ivan Cherkunov.
An even larger sum, UAH 465,000 in cash, was received by Oleksandr Cherkunov's wife, Hanna. According to "Odeske Zhyttia", the source of these funds was her parents — Yurii Mishchenko and Larysa Kostenko.
In 2024, Oleksandr Cherkunov used a Range Rover Sport SUV manufactured in 2010. The owner of the vehicle during that period was 85-year-old Tamara Cherkunova. According to journalists' estimates, the value of such a car on the secondary market was between US$12,500 and US$22,000, equivalent to approximately UAH 550,000–980,000 at the time of publication. Subsequently, Tamara Cherkunova ceased to be listed as the owner of the car, indicating its probable sale.
Following the start of the full-scale invasion, the volume of real estate in Oleksandr Cherkunov's family increased significantly. Most of the couple's assets were received as gifts or free of charge. Specifically, in 2024, Hanna Cherkunova became the owner of a 0.1-hectare land plot in Hlevas near Kyiv. The value of the non-cash gift from Yurii Mishchenko, stated in the declaration, was UAH 200,000, which matches the price of the plot. The documentation also revealed two unfinished dacha houses in the same settlement.
Earlier, in 2022, Oleksandr Cherkunov received a 0.1-hectare land plot in Zhytomyr Oblast as a gift. His wife received an adjacent plot of the same area free of charge in the same year, based on a decision of the Radomysl City Council. Even earlier, in 2018, Oleksandr Cherkunov was gifted a residential house and two land plots in the village of Kyiliv in Kyiv Oblast.
Asset inflows were also recorded for Oleksandr's parents. His mother, Vitaliy Cherkunov's wife, owns a three-room apartment of 120 square metres in Kyiv, which she also received as a gift.
Vitaliy Cherkunov has held the position of First Deputy Head of Odesa Customs since late 2024; previously, he worked in a similar position at Bukovyna Customs. His brother Serhiy Cherkunov was formerly the Deputy Head of Sumy Customs. Oleksandr Cherkunov's wife, Hanna, indicated the Kyiv City Council as her place of work in her 2025 declaration, where she has held various positions since 2018. However, according to declaration data, since 2021 her income has consisted mainly of small social payments and gifts.
Serhiy Mytkalyk, Chairman of the Board of the NGO "Antykoruptsiinyi Shtab" (Anti-Corruption Headquarters), stated in a comment to the publication "Odeske Zhyttia" that such significant "gifts" are grounds for an investigation by the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP):
«У випадку, якщо НАЗК встановить, що ні посадовець, ні його батьки не мали підтверджених законних джерел доходів для дороговартісних подарунків, це може свідчити про ознаки порушення вимог фінансового контролю чи інших правопорушень, зокрема ознак незаконного збагачення або декларування недостовірних відомостей» (In the event that NACP establishes that neither the official nor his parents had confirmed legal sources of income for expensive gifts, this may indicate signs of a violation of financial control requirements or other offences, in particular signs of illicit enrichment or the declaration of false information).
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