The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has uncovered false statements totaling 8.81 million UAH in the asset declaration of Roman Zolotukhin, a former administrator of the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ Territorial Service Center No. 6341 in Kharkiv. A comprehensive audit by the anti-corruption watchdog revealed hidden real estate, the undervalued price tag of a luxury vehicle, and unverified cash savings worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. The findings point to signs of a criminal offense.
According to the NACP, the former service center official failed to report two land plots in Kharkiv measuring 1,000 sq. m and 150 sq. m. The land is jointly owned by his family and several other citizens. Notably, while Zolotukhin completely omitted the land plots, he did declare the 173.4 sq. m residential house situated directly on them.
Furthermore, the former official withheld information regarding a 3.7 sq. m non-residential premises owned by his wife and underreported the total square footage of his daughter’s apartment. Discrepancies were also found in the reporting of a 33.3 sq. m parking space. Zolotukhin listed it as an unfinished construction project, even though his wife had already registered full ownership of the completed property, valued at 335,000 UAH.
The anti-corruption investigation exposed further manipulation regarding movable assets. Roman Zolotukhin declared that he drives a 2022 Lexus NX 250 owned by his sister, listing its value at 1.66 million UAH. However, official registry data showed that the actual market value at the time he acquired usage rights was 2 million UAH. Auditors discovered that the declarant had simply omitted the Value Added Tax (VAT) to artificially lower the luxury crossover’s price.
Other notable violations included a failure to report the real estate properties actually occupied by his family during 2024, as well as a completely undeclared homemade utility trailer.
The most glaring discrepancies appeared during the NACP’s financial analysis of the official’s liquid cash assets. Zolotukhin declared $300,000 in cash, claiming the funds were part of a $350,000 inheritance left by his deceased father.
Official Findings: Records from the Kharkiv State Notary Office revealed that the only monetary inheritance the ex-official actually received from his father was a bank account balance containing a mere 970.4 UAH.
A tax service check further confirmed that over a multi-year period, the father’s only official legal income was a single payment of 91.15 UAH from the regional clinical hospital, proving he had no financial means to accumulate hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Ultimately, the NACP calculated that Zolotukhin’s legitimate income over a 20-year span (accounting for asset sales and living expenses) could yield a maximum savings of $90,300. The origin of the remaining $209,700 remains entirely unverified.
The actions of the former service center administrator have been flagged as a criminal offense under Part 2 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (submitting false asset declarations). The statutory penalty ranges from heavy financial fines to up to two years of imprisonment, along with a ban on holding public office.