Smuggling, millions in cash and a villa in Croatia: Lunchenko and Petyovka enjoy life despite media scandals

The declaration of People’s Deputy Valery Lunchenko revealed significant assets, including 16 million hryvnias in cash, luxury real estate in Croatia, and collections of Rolex and Hublot watches. In addition, Lunchenko has business ties with sanctioned smuggler Valery Peresolyak, the StopKor website reports.

His colleague in parliament, Vasyl Petyovka, although he has a lower official income, also owns expensive real estate, luxury cars, and art collections, without specifying their value. The families of both deputies have business partners, and the parliamentarians themselves are often the subject of investigations into smuggling and the misuse of parliamentary powers for personal gain.

Transcarpathia, where Lunchenko comes from, is a region where political, business, and smuggling interests are traditionally intertwined. Lunchenko, who has been politically active since 2012, has represented various parties, such as Batkivshchyna, Narodny Front, and Dovira. In 2014, he became infamous for violating the Constitution by becoming the head of the Transcarpathian Regional State Administration while remaining a previously elected deputy. At the same time, he helped repeal the article on illicit enrichment.

Lunchenko is currently the deputy head of the Dovira group and chairs the subcommittee on state revenues. He votes in support of the government, in particular by initiating a bill that subordinated the NABU and SAPO to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, thereby significantly weakening their independence.

Vasyl Petyovka, on the other hand, has been elected to parliament hundreds of times since 2002, collaborating in various political factions. He is currently part of the agrarian committee and also belongs to Dovira. Both deputies have always been involved in politics, despite changes in government.

Both MPs regularly find themselves in scandalous situations. For example, in 2015, Lunchenko’s colleague, Ihor Mosiychuk, accused him of trying to organize cigarette smuggling schemes. In particular, this concerns the key checkpoint “Tysa” and his assistant. The local press has repeatedly linked them to illegal trade schemes.

Another recent scandal concerns the fact that Lunchenko’s parents, in the early days of the war, crossed the border using “green corridors” together with a businessman and a former minister, which caused a wide public outcry.

Petyovka also has its share of scandals. In 2023, the NACP investigated a potential conflict of interest arising from several requests by his relatives to travel abroad. The court found no violations, but the use of deputy activities for personal purposes was recorded. In addition, his name appeared in cigarette smuggling investigations.

The deputies’ declarations also raise many questions. Lunchenko indicated cash holdings of 16 million hryvnias, while his official income is only a little over half a million. In addition, his family owns a hotel and restaurant complex in Khust, and connections with a sanctioned businessman are also indicated.

Petyovka, in turn, must also explain his wealth: together with his family, he owns luxury cars and luxury real estate, including works of art, which raises questions about the sources of their income.