Ukrainians are considered naive: officials and deputies report on luxury cars for ridiculous amounts

In Ukraine, there have been numerous cases where civil servants and deputies indicate in their declarations the understated value of cars compared to market prices. According to the investigation presented by NGL.media, 405 such officials were identified.

According to the legislation, civil servants are required to declare cars in two main cases: if they or their relatives become car owners, or use vehicles registered to other persons. The most significant number of suspicions concerns the conclusion of car purchase agreements.

For example, Deputy Maksym Sokolov in October 2022 declared the purchase of a 2022 Toyota Highlander Hybrid for 10 thousand hryvnias. At the same time, the market value of such a car was about 2 million hryvnias. Sokolov explained that the vehicle had suffered severe damage, but did not specify the exact nature of the damage.

A similar situation occurred with Viktoriya Nehoda, head of the land resources department of the Prystolichnykh hromada, who in October 2023 purchased a 2022 Hyundai Tucson for 100 thousand hryvnias, even though the market value of such a car should be at least 10 times higher. Nehoda noted that the vehicle was “a little beat up”.

There is another category of cases when officials use cars that belong to other people. More than a thousand civil servants fail to declare the value of such vehicles in their declarations. Oleksiy Boyko, a lawyer at the Anti-Corruption Center, noted that technically, if an official is truly unfamiliar with the market value of a car, they may not be required to indicate it. However, if the amount is still indicated, the official must be ready to provide confirmation.

Some officials attempt to estimate the approximate cost of cars, but these amounts are often significantly underestimated. For example, Ternopil Mayor Serhiy Nadal declared that he uses a 2024 Audi Q7, although the actual cost is 4.7 million hryvnias. Nadal explained that he indicated the amount indicated in the documents.

Another example is former People’s Deputy Iryna Kormyshkina, who in her declaration estimated the Mercedes-Maybach S580 registered to her husband at 350,000 hryvnias, although the actual cost starts at 12 million hryvnias.

The head of the Zolochiv District Council, Orest Kavetsky, noted that his wife uses a 2022 BMW X6, registered to her mother, which costs at least 100 thousand hryvnias, approximately 20 times less than the market price. Kavetsky explained that he simply copied the amount from his wife’s words.