Head of Chernivtsi Customs Menshykov forgot to declare assets worth 14 million hryvnias

Head of Chernivtsi Customs Menshykov forgot to declare assets worth 14 million hryvnias

The declaration of Daniil Menshykov, head of the Cherkasy customs office, revealed violations amounting to 14.1 million hryvnias, which indicate signs of inaccurate declaration.

This became known from the results of a full check of the official’s declaration for 2022, conducted by the NACP this year.

In December 2021, according to the order of the State Customs Service, Menshykov became the acting head of the Lviv customs office. Prior to this, he held the position of head of the Cherkasy customs office. Previously, in 2018, he worked as the deputy head of the department in the Department of Business Development and Regulatory Policy of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. After Lviv, he returned to work in Cherkasy.

It was found that the official provided inaccurate information about non-residential premises (255.1 sq. m). The check established that based on the sale contract, non-residential premises (a group of premises with a total area of 244.3 sq. m, valued at 1.3 million hryvnias) belong to a family member. Menshykov did not reflect information about the property used by a family member (son) as the actual residence. He did not exercise his right to provide information on this matter. During the verification, it was not possible to establish characteristics of such an object.

Menshykov did not provide information about his actual residence in Cherkasy while performing his official duties and did not exercise his right to provide information on this matter. During the verification, it was not possible to establish characteristics of such an object.

The subject of the declaration provided cadastral information about a land plot, mentioning the value at the time of acquiring the right in the amount of 80,000 hryvnias and a land plot valued at 693,000 hryvnias, which belong to a family member. The customs official explained that he provided the information based on a notarized statement given to him by a family member. During the check, it was not possible to confirm or refute the information about the land plot values.

Menshykov did not provide information about an unfinished construction object that belongs to a family member. The check revealed that in 2022, a family member had an unfinished construction object — a two-story residential building with an area of 295.5 sq. m. Also, electricity, water supply, and heating were connected to the house, indicating the object’s readiness for use. According to the register of property rights to real estate, the residential building was built on a land plot whose cadastral number belongs to a family member. Thus, in 2022, a residential building was already built on this land plot but was not registered in the legal order, valued at almost 3.5 million hryvnias. The customs official did not exercise his right to send a letter providing explanations for the inclusion of inaccurate information in the 2022 declaration.

The subject of the declaration did not provide information about an unfinished construction object that belongs to a family member, with an area of 297.1 sq. m valued at 3.5 million hryvnias. Meanwhile, the house has been put into operation. The same situation was with a house with an area of 297.8 sq. m for 3.5 million hryvnias.

NACP specialists were also unable to verify the information regarding the jewelry of Gines Serran-Pegan, Garrard, and Loree Rodkin belonging to the official’s wife. The presence and value of watches from Hublot, Vacheron, Audemars Piguet, Breguet, Chaumet could not be established. The value of paintings by Gines Serran-Pegan and Georgiy Zaychenko, owned by the Menshykov family member since 2016, is also in question.

During the full check, it was established that a Volkswagen Passat (2007) worth 154,000 hryvnias, used by the official, belongs to the State Enterprise "Service and Publishing Center," but they have no information about it.

The official also provided information about cash holdings of his wife amounting to 675,200 dollars, 789,000 dollars, 170,000 pounds sterling. There are reasonable doubts about the possibility of a family member saving these funds, considering this. The size of the recorded income from 1998 to 2022, obtained from legal sources by the family member, amounts to 41 million hryvnias. However, the family member sold real estate (an apartment) for 1.18 million hryvnias and sold non-residential premises, the income from which could not be established during the verification. In addition, the family member incurred expenses, including for acquiring real estate objects totaling 11.91 million hryvnias.

In particular, the family member incurred general living expenses, expenses for purchasing corporate rights, a vehicle, and expenses for constructing four residential houses (estimated value is 14 million hryvnias).

The request from the National Agency to Menshykov’s family member was returned undelivered with the note "due to storage period expiration."

During the full verification of the declaration, the National Agency failed to establish the possible residual cash amount of the family member by the end of 2022 due to his economic activities and the absence of any supporting documents regarding the size and grounds of obtaining the money, about which the National Agency will inform the competent authorities about possible tax evasion.

As a result of the full check of the declaration, violations totaling 14.15 million hryvnias were revealed. The actions of the official were found to have signs of an offense under Part 2 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code (declaration of false information).