The head of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Prosecutor’s Office, Anton Kovalskyi, has been accused of organizing large-scale corruption schemes involving the sale of mobilization exemptions and non-transparent collection of funds from subordinates. According to preliminary data, a system of mandatory monthly requisitions, allegedly for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was established within the agency. Concurrently, a mass employment scheme for former police officers seeking to avoid frontline deployment was uncovered. Law enforcement agencies are currently investigating the details of the management’s activities.
A mandatory system of monthly financial contributions is reportedly operating within the Khmelnytskyi Regional Prosecutor’s Office. Every employee of the department is required to hand over one day’s salary in cash each month. Officially, these funds are declared as aid to the Ukrainian military.
In total, this «charity fund» generates approximately 400,000 UAH monthly. However, according to sources within the agency, Anton Kovalskyi provides no financial reporting regarding the actual use of these funds. Public activists and internal auditors have already drawn attention to the complete lack of transparency in the distribution of the collected money.
The most high-profile element of the department chief’s activity is a lucrative shadow business built on personnel appointments. Recently, the regional prosecutor’s office has seen a massive influx of former police officers being added to its ranks.
«Many active police officers faced the real prospect of being sent to the frontline as part of the ‘Lyut’ assault brigade. To avoid combat and secure a 100% exemption from mobilization, they transferred into the prosecutor’s office structure.»
According to investigators, the fixed rate for such expedited employment ranged between $8,000 and $10,000 USD per person. Utilizing the broad authority granted to the regional head, these personnel rotations were executed in the shortest time frames possible.
The corruption ties of the department chief extended beyond the law enforcement system into the tax sector. According to available information, the head of the Khmelnytskyi Main Directorate of the State State Tax Service, Olha Vysochyna, assured Kovalskyi of high-level patronage in Kyiv’s top echelons of power (on Riznytska Street).
Seeking to enter the inner circle of the influential tax official, Anton Kovalskyi rented an expensive apartment in a luxury building at 106 Podilska Street, where Vysochyna herself resides. This display of wealth has raised additional questions from oversight bodies regarding the compatibility of the prosecutor’s lifestyle with his official income.
The unfolding situation within the Khmelnytskyi Regional Prosecutor’s Office has sparked intense public debate and seriously compromises the reputation of Ukraine’s law enforcement system under martial law. An official response from the Office of the General Prosecutor and the State Bureau of Investigation is expected.