Investigation: Millions from pensioner mothers and property registered to grandmothers in officials' declarations

Questions about the origin of civil servants' assets

BIHUS Info's investigation reports that significant assets appear in the declarations of Ukrainian prosecutors, law enforcement officers, MPs, and other officials. Their origin is officially explained as family gifts from elderly relatives. However, journalistic checks raise doubts about the true source of these funds and property.

The case of Sviatoslav Zherebchuk

One of the subjects is former National Police operative Sviatoslav Zherebchuk, who moved to work at Energoatom in 2025. That same year, his family received a 143 sq m house in Hatne near Kyiv, declared at 910,000 UAH.

The official's mother, Zhanna, also gifted him over 4 million UAH. She explained the origin of the money as an inheritance from an aunt, although in 2018 she inherited and sold only a share in a two-room apartment near the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. Sviatoslav's father, former Ministry of Internal Affairs employee Valeriy Zherebchuk, sued to increase his pension by 2,000 UAH, which amounted to 14,000 UAH. The main part of Sviatoslav's wife's income consisted of social benefits.

Gifts to Prosecutor Mykola Kononenko

Prosecutor Mykola Kononenko, son of the former first deputy prosecutor of Kyiv, received a 117 sq m apartment in the Podil Plaza Residence residential complex from pensioner Halyna Masur. Its value is almost 14 million UAH.

Previously, the woman lent the prosecutor's wife 30,000 dollars and registered a Volkswagen Tiguan in her name, which the Kononenko family used. Masur has no registered business. Kononenko confirmed receiving the gift but refused to explain the origin of the funds.

Aleksandr Minchenko's assets

Aleksandr Minchenko, head of the vehicle support department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Academy, previously came under the attention of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) due to the false declaration of 7.5 million UAH in cash. At that time, he explained the discrepancy as a "superfluous zero". The court recognised the violation but closed the case due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

Minchenko's parents gifted him a 180 sq m house in Kyiv, declared at 8 million UAH. A duplex in Kryukivshchyna with a market value of about 189,000 dollars and a 2020 Infiniti car were also registered in the name of his mother, Valentyna. The woman told journalists that she did not know about these assets. Minchenko explained this by his mother's age and the medications she takes. Later, the Infiniti was re-registered. The official himself bought a 2020 Mercedes for 1.325 million UAH, although similar cars were offered on the market for over 3 million UAH.

MP Ruslan Telyatnyk and millions from his mother

Ruslan Telyatnyk, an MP of the Poltava Regional Council and former head of a Kyivmiskbud structure, declared 20 million UAH received from his mother, Alla Balashkevych. The woman is over 70 years old, and she ceased her entrepreneurial activity back in 2014.

The Telyatnyk family also received a 450 sq m estate in Kozyn, land associated with the history of Kyivmiskbud's assets, and 49 parking spaces in Kyiv. An Audi Q7 car was valued at only 50,000 UAH in the declaration. The NACP found false information worth almost 31 million UAH in the MP's declaration and transferred the materials to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU).

Notary Ihor Panashenko and his circle

Notary Ihor Panashenko from Artsyz declared over 18 million UAH and an apartment in central Kyiv, received from 83-year-old Yevdokiya Dovhan, who had no registered business. In 2024, a dacha house and at least five apartments in Odesa were registered in the name of the 83-year-old Dovhan.

His ex-wife, Tetyana Panashenko, received another 7.4 million UAH from Halyna Solomakha. Tetyana headed the medical-consultative committee of the "Kand" medical centre, which the investigation links to the issuance of forged medical documents to evade mobilisation. During a search, law enforcement officers found weapons, ammunition, and 100,000 dollars in cash. The woman explained the origin of the money as a gift.

Reaction of control bodies

As journalists note, gifts from parents and other elderly relatives, real estate at undervalued prices, and cars registered in the names of family members allow officials to explain the ownership of expensive assets in the absence of comparable personal income.

The NACP detects discrepancies in declarations amounting to tens of millions of hryvnias, but even cases regarding established violations are sometimes closed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. The fact of registering a gift is legal, but the origin of the funds and the reliability of the declarations remain subject to checks.