The Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) has filed a lawsuit with the High Anti-Corruption Court seeking the civil forfeiture of assets belonging to Ukraine’s former Deputy Minister of Energy, Oleksandr Kheilo. Prosecutors are demanding that a residential house and a 0.0345-hectare land plot in the Kyiv region, valued at 5 million UAH, be declared unsubstantiated and seized as state revenue. According to investigators, the official acquired the property between 2021 and 2023 by registering it under the names of third parties.
The assets in question include a 0.0345-hectare plot of land and a residential house located in the Kyiv suburbs. Although the properties are officially registered to intermediary owners, investigators established that the former official remains the de facto beneficiary.
SAP based its lawsuit on evidence that the assets were purchased in the interests and at the direct instruction of the deputy minister. Currently, he retains the ability to directly or indirectly manage and dispose of the property. A financial audit of the official and his wife’s assets confirmed that their legitimate income was insufficient to cover such a purchase.
Oleksandr Kheilo, frequently referred to in the media as a «business partner» of energy tycoon Vitaliy Kropachov, has repeatedly drawn scrutiny from law enforcement. Analysts are also investigating other family assets, including a 4 million UAH apartment with questionable funding origins.
«An analysis of the financial status of the official and his spouse confirmed the impossibility of acquiring these properties using legally obtained income,» the prosecution stated.
Notably, the father-in-law of Kheilo’s daughter, Andriy Tereshchuk, is a long-time veteran of Ukrainian law enforcement. SAP is currently pursuing civil forfeiture in court to prove the illicit origin of Kheilo’s assets and transfer the property to state ownership.