Case of illegal enrichment: The court arrested the hotel complex of the wife of Lviv customs officer Basarab

Case of illegal enrichment: The court arrested the hotel complex of the wife of Lviv customs officer Basarab

The Territorial Office of the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) has initiated criminal cases on suspicion of illegal enrichment and the declaration of false information regarding the Lviv customs officer Andriy Basarab. As part of the criminal proceedings, the court has seized, among other things, a large hotel complex Saltzbork in the Lviv region, co-owned by the customs officer’s wife.

As it became known from the case materials and decisions published in the judicial register, the SBI initiated criminal cases under Part 1 of Article 366-2 and Article 368-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine back in May 2024. Law enforcement officers believe that the Chief Inspector of Lviv Customs Andriy Basarab submitted false information in the declaration for 2023 and also acquired significant unjustified assets exceeding legal income. As stated in the case materials, the customs officer involved close relatives and a trusted person in the scheme.

Specifically, the court decisions indicate that the customs officer’s parents own 25 plots of land, several real estate objects (shops, office premises, car service, cafe-bar), three residential houses (164.6 m2, 141.2 m2, 234.3 m2), and a Toyota Land Cruiser 120 car (2008). The parents of the customs officer’s wife own two plots of land, an apartment (40.4 m2), a shop-bar (231.4 m2), a non-residential premise (134 m2), two houses (87.8 m2, 259.8 m2), and cars: Volkswagen Passat (2020), Škoda Octavia (2018). About 30 more plots of land and various real estate objects are owned by the customs officer’s wife and his trusted person.

It is unknown whether the real estate objects mentioned by the law enforcement officers were illegally acquired, as the investigation is ongoing. In October 2024, the court granted investigators access to documents, including data on income sources (from 1991 to 2023) of the customs officer, his close associates, and several other persons.

In January 2025, the Lychakiv District Court of Lviv imposed an arrest (prohibition of alienation) on the Saltzbork hotel complex, located in the town of Stara Sil near Staryi Sambir in the Lviv region. It belongs to the customs officer’s wife and his trusted person. According to the hotel complex’s website stated that there are over 20 cottages, a hotel, a lake, gazebos, a pool, spa, billiards, bowling, cafe, and other entertainment on the territory.

Law enforcement officers determined that after the opening of the criminal cases in October-November 2024, 19 plots of land and real estate objects located on them and forming part of the hotel complex were re-registered under the firm "Eco-Sambir". According to the business search system YouControl, the owner of the firm is Lyubov Basarab, the customs officer’s wife.

"This indicates that he and his wife, fully aware that in the event of a conviction for committing a corruption offense, property acquired by criminal means is subject to special confiscation, which became the basis for re-registering the aforementioned property to LLC ’Eco-Sambir’," the court ruling stated.

The property owners and their lawyers filed objections in court against the imposed arrest. In particular, they argued that Lyubov Basarab is engaged in entrepreneurial activity and her income is legal, and also, that the indicated plots were reflected in the declaration.

Indeed, in the customs officer Andriy Basarab’s declaration on the NACP website, a number of real estate objects in the town of Stara Sil are listed, owned by his wife Lyubov Basarab. By area, the declared objects are identical to those stated in the court ruling.

The investigating judge satisfied the prosecutor’s motion and imposed an arrest on the Saltzbork hotel complex by prohibiting alienation (disposal). The seized property belongs to LLC "Eco-Sambir", the customs officer’s wife, and a person considered by law enforcement to be his trusted person. This ruling can still be appealed.