The acting head of the Kobeliaky police department in the Poltava region, Serhiy Balashov, has been remanded in custody under suspicion of illicit enrichment totaling over 22 million UAH (approximately $540,000). The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) exposed the official for registering luxury assets in his relatives’ names. A court set his bail at over 10 million UAH, according to official case files.
According to investigators, between 2024 and 2025, Serhiy Balashov (who previously headed the Zinkiv police department) aggressively acquired high-end assets. Meanwhile, the law enforcement official’s official income for this period amounted to just 1.1 million UAH. To conceal his actual wealth, the official registered the property to his mother and stepfather.
The undeclared assets included:
Vehicles: A Volkswagen Touareg, a Tesla Model S, and a Lexus GX 460;
Real Estate: One apartment in Poltava, two apartments in the Zakarpattia region, and a residential property in Warsaw, Poland.
An NACP audit confirmed that the suspect’s relatives lacked any legitimate sources of income to fund these purchases. In total, the corruption investigation revealed discrepancies in the official’s asset declarations amounting to nearly 30 million UAH. The police chief faces charges under Article 368-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illicit enrichment).
A key element of the anti-corruption probe involves the suspect’s domestic partnership. Serhiy Balashov is the common-law husband of Yanina Aranchiy, the head of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection in the Poltava region. In his official filings, Balashov claimed to live in a modest service apartment in Zinkiv. However, investigators discovered he was residing in Poltava with Aranchiy and their child in a 221.8-square-meter mansion registered to his partner’s mother.
Because Balashov failed to list Aranchiy as a family member, her substantial assets were omitted from his asset declaration, including:
Three apartments in Poltava;
An Audi Q7 valued at approximately 2.5 million UAH;
Cash reserves totaling $225,000 and 5 million UAH;
Personal income exceeding 7.1 million UAH.
The illicit enrichment case is not the only criminal investigation targeting the couple. The SBI is currently investigating several other operations.
According to investigators, Yanina Aranchiy and the chief accountant of a regional state laboratory put a woman on the state payroll under a fictitious employment scheme. While her salary was paid out of the state budget, she actually functioned as a private nanny, caring for the official’s child.
Additionally, law enforcement agencies are verifying reports that the couple allegedly attempted to register a fake disability status for their joint child. Investigators believe this scheme was designed to grant the high-ranking police officer legal grounds to evade wartime travel restrictions and cross the border into Poland. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.