A former department head at the Odesa Customs, Serhiy Hrynchyshyn, has resigned from his post shortly after a court ruling on the civil forfeiture of his assets worth over 8.5 million UAH took effect. Despite the verdict issued by the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC), the state budget has yet to receive the funds because the enforcement proceedings were officially halted. Meanwhile, in his pre-resignation financial disclosure for 2026, the ex-official reported substantial amounts of cash held in foreign currencies.
The case dates back to 2025 when the HACC recognized the assets belonging to Serhiy Hrynchyshyn and his son, the deputy chairman of the Obukhiv District Council, as unjustified. Prosecutors from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) and analysts from the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) proved that in 2021, the family acquired two luxury apartments (a 103.8 sq. m property in Odesa and a 105.5 sq. m property in Kyiv), as well as a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid vehicle.
To conceal the property, it was registered under their 89-year-old relative, Klavdiya Vlasova. Neither the customs-employed couple nor their official son possessed any legitimate income to cover such acquisitions. As soon as the NACP initiated a lifestyle monitoring process, the individuals urgently sold off these assets.
In January 2026, the court ruling ordering the confiscation of 8.5 million UAH entered into force. However, by March 4, state bailiff Maryna Franchuk of the Prymorskyi District Enforcement Department in Odesa suspended the enforcement proceedings. This action was taken following a motion filed by defense attorney Mariya Vares, as the defense had submitted a cassation appeal.
Immediately following the legal proceedings, in February 2026, Serhiy Hrynchyshyn resigned from the customs service. Despite the ongoing confiscation processes, the former official and his wife Halyna (who was also employed at the customs office) declared impressive amounts of cash and real estate.
From the pre-resignation asset declaration of Serhiy Hrynchyshyn:
Cash holdings: $138.7k and €7k held by the husband, $103k held by the wife (totaling over $241k in cash).
Real estate in Odesa: A 135.1 sq. m apartment, a garage, and a parking space.
Land and houses: A 284.6 sq. m residential property and 20 acres of land in the Odesa region, alongside over 2 hectares of land in the Vinnytsia region.
Vehicles: An Audi e-tron electric vehicle (2020 model year), valued at 1.14 million UAH.
In stark contrast, the couple’s official income for the partial year of 2026 appeared remarkably modest. Serhiy Hrynchyshyn received 40.8k UAH in salary and 11.8k UAH in pension payments. His wife earned 43.8k UAH at the customs office and received 10.4k UAH in pension benefits.
Currently, the corrupt assets and the legitimacy of halting the fund recovery remain under review by the court of cassation. The state budget continues to await the return of the multi-million sums.