Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has completed a full audit of the 2024 annual asset declaration submitted by Olena Varava, a chief state inspector at the Odesa Customs Office. The investigation revealed false information totaling 673,000 UAH (approx. $16,000). Authorities report that the inspector’s actions show signs of an administrative offense under Part 4 of Article 172-6 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.
The most significant discrepancies involved the official’s personal income. In the declaration, Varava checked the box indicating «no reportable assets,» despite having received 506,000 UAH in salary from Odesa Customs and 165,600 UAH in pension payments from the Pension Fund of Ukraine during the reporting period.
The official attempted to attribute the error to technical issues caused by frequent power outages; however, the NACP rejected the explanation. The agency determined that the selection was made intentionally, noting that Varava failed to use her legal right to submit an amended declaration within 30 days or contact auditors prior to the inspection.
«The official deliberately selected the mark indicating an absence of reportable objects, failed to exercise the right to submit an amended declaration within 30 days, and did not contact the agency with explanations before the audit began,» the NACP stated.
The asset declaration audit further uncovered substantial misrepresentations regarding real estate, vehicles, and financial accounts:
Real Estate: An apartment in Odesa was declared as the sole property of the inspector’s son since 1991. Property registry records show that since 2004, ownership has been split among three individuals, including Varava herself. Additionally, a garden house and land plot were declared as owned by her son, yet no official registration exists for these properties.
Vehicles: Varava declared using a 2010 Mitsubishi registered to an acquaintance, but transport registries contain no record of the vehicle under that owner’s name. She also withheld the VIN code for her son’s Subaru Impreza, despite the data being accessible in national registries.
Banking and Personal Identification: The inspector claimed to hold no bank accounts, contradicting records showing active accounts at PrivatBank, Oschadbank, and MTB Bank for both herself and her son. She also omitted her son’s active foreign passport and identification details.
Auditors noted an additional 94,000 UAH in undeclared income earned by the inspector’s son from ETG-GROUP LLC. This amount was excluded from the final violation total, as investigators could not conclusively prove the mother was aware of the earnings. The anti-corruption audit findings have been forwarded for administrative processing.