The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) has conducted searches targeting Viktor Kovalskyi, the Deputy Chief of the «Ustylug» customs post at the Volyn Customs. According to sources close to the matter, the investigative measures are linked to potential illicit enrichment during martial law and a stark mismatch between the family’s official income and their actual lifestyle. Law enforcement and the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) are highly focused on luxury apartments in Lviv and Kyiv registered under the official’s 75-year-old mother-in-law, as well as a large-scale logistics business tied to the very border checkpoint where the customs officer holds a senior position.
According to the official asset declaration of the Volyn Customs official, the Kovalskyi family owns substantial real estate and land plots in Lutsk and Volodymyr. Over the course of 2023–2024, the family’s assets grew significantly. In October 2023, Viktor Kovalskyi registered a commercial retail property and a land plot under his name. Just a year later, in October 2024, his wife, Ruslana Kovalsка, acquired an apartment in Volodymyr valued at 1.26 million UAH.
Currently, the family’s declared property portfolio includes a 250.3 sq. m. residential house, multiple commercial premises, outbuildings (including a private sauna complex), and a fleet of vehicles featuring a Mercedes-Benz GLC 300. Notably, the customs official’s disclosure lacks market value appraisals for several land plots and major structures.
Anti-corruption investigators are looking closest at the assets held by the official’s mother-in-law. In 2023, the 75-year-old relative purchased an apartment in the elite Lviv residential complex «Shchaslyvyi Platinum,» where property prices start at $130,000. Reports indicate that the couple’s student daughter is currently residing in the apartment.
In 2024, the same elderly relative acquired yet another property—this time in Kyiv’s upscale «LIKO-GRAD Perfect Town» residential complex, valued at approximately $150,000. This complex is located just 500 meters from the National Academy of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), where the couple’s sons happen to be enrolled as students.
Beyond residential real estate, the Kovalskyi family owns a 3.5-hectare commercial compound in the city of Volodymyr, which houses extensive warehousing and manufacturing facilities.
This industrial compound serves as the base for a substantial international transport fleet, including passenger buses. These commercial buses operate regular routes to Poland, crossing the border directly through the «Ustylug» customs post, where Viktor Kovalskyi serves as Deputy Chief.
Official records indicate that for the 2025 fiscal year, Viktor Kovalskyi earned 782,000 UAH in salary from the Volyn Customs. His wife, registered as a sole proprietor (FOP) since 2020 specializing in agricultural support services, reported 1.34 million UAH in business income alongside a 159,000 UAH pension. The family also holds 1.2 million UAH in cash reserves, with an additional 700,000 UAH distributed across commercial bank accounts.
At present, the NACP and the SBI have declined to provide official comments regarding the ongoing criminal proceedings, citing the confidentiality of the active pre-trial investigation.