Family business in public service: Former Sumy tax chief Khotenko declares millions through his entrepreneur son

Family business in public service: Former Sumy tax chief Khotenko declares millions through his entrepreneur son

Former head of the State Tax Service of Sumy Region, Olena Khotenko, who lost her position due to issues with the transparency of her assets, has filed a declaration as an inspector of the Sumy Department of Taxes and Fees for Individuals, in which she indicated that she has a son with multimillion-dollar assets.

This became known from the analysis of her 2024 declaration.

Olena Khotenko is registered in the city of Rivne but actually lives in Kyiv. In the declaration, she states that she continues to hold a position, although in reality, she does not show up at work. Her family officially consists of one member — her son Mykola Khotenko, who, judging by the declaration, has become the key financial power of the family. Recall that the woman hides her cohabitant Oleksandr Artemyev, on whom a significant amount of her property is registered.

The real estate of Olena Khotenko is impressive in its variety and scale. She owns a non-residential premises in Rivne with an area of 270.4 square meters, purchased in 2019 for 2.78 million hryvnias. She also owns a plot of land in the village of Veresy, Zhytomyr region, with an area of 20 thousand square meters, bought in 2017 for 48 thousand hryvnias.

In 2022, Olena became the owner of two apartments: one in Rivne (37.7 square meters for 50 thousand hryvnias), where Mykola has the right to use it free of charge, and another in Kyiv (45.7 square meters for 100 thousand hryvnias). That same year, she acquired another non-residential premises in Rivne with an area of 18.3 square meters for 100 thousand hryvnias.

In 2023, her assets included a residential house in the village of Boianivka, Rivne region, with an area of 491.9 square meters, which she bought in joint partial ownership (50% belongs to her, 50% to Natalia Kyrylchuk) for 30 thousand hryvnias, as well as a land plot in the same village of 2.5 thousand square meters for 10 thousand hryvnias.

In Olena’s garage is a Lexus NX 200 (2021), purchased in 2021 for 1.2 million hryvnias. Additionally, her son Mykola has the right to use a Mercedes-Benz GLE 580 (2019) free of charge, worth 1.2 million hryvnias, which belongs to citizen Liudmyla Timofeyenko. These cars emphasize the luxurious lifestyle of the family, which contrasts with the official salary of a civil servant.

The most attention is drawn to the income and assets of Mykola Khotenko. In 2024, he earned 5.63 million hryvnias from business activities and also received a salary of 9 thousand hryvnias from LLC "Outstaff-Consult-Service" — a company where he is a 100% owner and beneficiary.

Khotenko with children and former husband

For comparison, Olena earned 76 thousand hryvnias in public service, which seems modest against the background of her son’s multimillion-dollar earnings.

Mykola also owns cash in the amount of 2.2 million hryvnias, 20 thousand dollars, and 20 thousand euros, and his corporate rights in LLC "Outstaff-Consult-Service," acquired in August 2024, are valued at 326 thousand hryvnias. Interestingly, Olena also received a salary from this company in the amount of 17 thousand hryvnias, as well as 320 thousand hryvnias from her son as income from the alienation of securities, indicating financial interaction between mother and son.

Olena herself earned 4.3 million hryvnias from business activities, 149 thousand hryvnias in insurance payouts from PrJSC "Grave Ukraine Life Insurance." In total, the family’s income amounted to 10.5 million hryvnias. Olena’s cash assets include 1.7 million hryvnias in cash, 40 thousand dollars.

Olena’s financial liabilities add intrigue. She has a loan from Liudmyla Timofeenko (the same owner of the Mercedes-Benz) in the amount of 2.8 million hryvnias, of which 1.2 million has been repaid.

Also, in 2021, she took a loan from "Oschadbank" for 645 thousand hryvnias, which she fully repaid, paying 35 thousand hryvnias in interest. Another loan – from "PrivatBank" – for 390 thousand hryvnias, taken in 2023, partially repaid (31 thousand 16 hryvnias), the remaining amount — 359 thousand 181 hryvnias.

Khotenko also owns the trademark RIVNE ONLINE, registered in 2021, which may be related to her business activities. She concluded several transactions in 2024, in particular, repaid part of the loan and concluded an additional agreement to the loan agreement of 2018 with Tymofeyenko.