20 million against a backdrop of pits and mud: how the family of the mayor of Yaremche lives

20 million against a backdrop of pits and mud: how the family of the mayor of Yaremche lives

Over 20 million hryvnias in income in one year — this is the amount declared by the wife of the mayor of Yaremche for 2024. This is neither an investor nor a national-scale entrepreneur. It is the wife of the mayor of a small Carpathian town with a population of less than 10,000 people.

For more details, see the investigation by Halyna Kapustynska for StopCor.

This declaration immediately caught attention during another monitoring of the open register. It became the starting point for the journalists’ investigation.

The first thing journalists saw upon arriving in Yaremche was the central station — a kind of calling card of the city. But instead of a neat area, guests are greeted by potholes, puddles, dirt, and broken asphalt.

The road from the station to the center looks like a patch museum: the repairs here seem to have been done in ancient times. Cars bounce on the potholes, and drivers navigate dangerous sections as best they can. This is the main street. But the neighboring lanes have no pavement at all.

One of these leads to the local kindergarten. Here, there is not just a bad road — there is virtually no road at all. Pure clay and deep holes. Although the mayor’s declaration mentions his wife’s income of 20 million hryvnias per year, the path to the kindergarten, where children walk daily, remains impassable.

Later, journalists did find a good road — smooth as glass, with brand-new paving. But not in the city center, 15 kilometers away — in Mykulychyn, where the Myronyak family lives.

Business without profit: what lies behind the millions in the declaration

The 20 million hryvnias declared by the mayor’s wife — is an income volume that would correspond to a large-scale business. However, the only company listed in the declaration of Nadiya Myronyak is the construction company LLC "Zori Karpat."

Until 2015, the founder of the company was Andriy Myronyak himself — the current mayor. After being elected to the position, the company was re-registered to his wife. The formal leader remained Andriy Khomin — a former head of the Yaremche police, where Myronyak once worked.

According to open data, in the past, "Zori Karpat" actively participated in tenders and earned from state orders. But the last officially recorded profit was in 2021. After that, there is silence: no income, no activity, no employees. The company appears "dead" — at least on paper.

Journalists decided to verify whether the entire "business empire" was truly limited to this company alone.

A Hotel without guests and real estate in the Carpathians

Mykulychyn — a picturesque village in the heart of the Carpathians, located 15 kilometers from Yaremche. It is here that the Myronyak family lives. And it is here, according to the declaration, that a residential-trade complex of nearly 600 square meters is registered to Mrs. Nadiya.

As it turned out, it referred to a small hotel with 8 rooms. Theoretically, such a business could earn a lot, especially in a region with significant tourist flow. But in practice, the hotel hasn’t been working for several years. Locals said it has been closed since at least 2020.

Journalists attempted to check in — fruitlessly. No active booking on any platform, and the phone isn’t answered. An accidental conversation with a woman on the hotel premises revealed that she was Mrs. Nadiya — the mayor’s wife. Her sunglasses initially made her unrecognizable.

So, the hotel is not operational. And no business is visible here. But the story gets interesting. Nearby, journalists found the true profit center of the Myronyak family — and it’s not tourism.

Forest, plots, and millions: What the "invisible" business looks like

According to "YouControl," Nadiya Myronyak is registered as a sole proprietorship. The list of NACE codes is extensive: trade, construction, hotel business, painting work. But the main focus is on dealing with wood.

Journalists discovered a fully-fledged woodworking enterprise: specialized equipment is operational, trucks regularly transport timber, and there are tens of cubic meters of pine stacked high all around.

Official documents present this as a small business, but in reality, the enterprise is fully operational. It seems to be the real source of the million-hryvnia income of the mayor’s family.

Moreover, Mrs. Nadiya owns 11 plots of land totaling 255 ares in Mykulychyn. And Andriy Myronyak himself owns another 8 plots totaling 156 ares. Nearby plots for sale cost $3,500 per are. For comparison, in the capital’s Koncha-Zaspa, the average price is $550 per are.

According to preliminary calculations, the Myronyaks’ land holdings in Mykulychyn alone are worth over $546,000 — or over 22 million hryvnias.

Old Pajero and a family car fleet worth hundreds of thousands of dollars

Andriy Myronyak himself reportedly owns a humble 1996 Mitsubishi Pajero. However, the car fleet of his close ones looks very different.

Registered to his wife, Nadiya Myronyak, are several vehicles, including:

• Volvo XC90
• Mitsubishi Outlander
• Mitsubishi L200
• 15 trucks

Their daughter Vitaliya, who recently graduated from university, owns two cars: a 2015 and a 2023 Suzuki Jimny. Both were purchased in one day in 2023. The total market value is over $35,000.

Additionally, three months ago, a Lexus LX 470 with an estimated value of around $16,000 was registered to her mother-in-law.

All this while the city budget constantly needs subsidies, and the streets where local children walk to the kindergarten are muddy.

Business in a nature reserve: What the mountain hut hides

Journalists identified a tourist attraction in the mountainous part of the Carpathians — in an area where any commercial activity is prohibited by law. The hut is located within a protected zone, where there should be only silence, untouched nature, and restricted access.

Despite this, the facility operates fully: visitors dine at tables, meat is grilled in the kitchen, music plays, and excursions are offered. There are no signs that activity is restricted or not happening.

When asked whether Andriy Myronyak is related to it, one of the workers replied shortly: "Well, the owner... the owner is a brother-in-law." Meaning a relative. Thus, formally, no connection. In practice, a classic management of a family business in a place where it is legally prohibited.

Such utilization of the protected area directly violates environmental legislation. A place that ought to be about silence, environmental preservation, and minimal human interference is transformed into a profit-turning tourist facility.

Luxury real estate in the capital and the lifestyle of the Myronyak family

The Myronyak family’s assets are not limited to the Carpathians. According to declarations, Andriy Myronyak owns two apartments in one residential complex in Kyiv. Both are nearly 70 square meters each. The estimated value of each is about $100,000.

Their daughter Vitaliya doesn’t fall behind. A recent graduate of the philosophy faculty, now a blogger and a young writer, she positions herself as a researcher of Yaremche. On her social media pages, she shows how she restores an old Hutsul hut. Everything looks atmospheric, authentic, and expensive.

But the main thing is that Vitaliya owns a three-room apartment in the "Rusanivska Gavan" residential complex — one of the most expensive residential complexes in the capital. The apartment, over 100 square meters, was purchased in the same 2023 that she bought two cars. The approximate cost is about 7 million hryvnias. It raises the obvious question: where did a young writer, who just graduated from university, get the funds for a luxury apartment and two cars?

The Mayor’s explanation: inconsistencies and evasion

With all the facts gathered, journalists approached the mayor of Yaremche — Andriy Myronyak. Surprisingly, he agreed to an interview. He responded candidly, improvised, and sometimes inconsistently.

First of all, journalists asked about the daughter’s apartment in Kyiv, purchased in 2023. To which the mayor responded:

"The issue is that I have a businesswoman as a wife. I was then the director of a company, worked, and this apartment was bought around the fifteenth-sixteenth year. She covered it, and it was taken sort of like a lease — they paid every year."

However, according to the official information, Vitaliya’s apartment only appeared two years ago — in 2023. So, either it is a different dwelling, or the mayor is confusing dates, or hiding something.

On the critical question of the origin of his wife’s 20 million hryvnias in income — journalists received no answer. Here’s what the mayor said:

"It was already a loss-making company. As far as I know, it was already like that. It’s gross. No, don’t confuse. It’s gross income, but the expenditure was more than the gross income."

In other words, over 20 million hryvnias in gross income was declared, but nothing is known about the expenses. No documents or confirmations were provided. The answers create the impression that the mayor either does not understand how reporting works or tries to avoid specifics.

When asked about the hut in the nature reserve, the mayor gave a brief and unclear answer:

"I am not involved in that. I have 120 relatives in Mykulychyn. Who does what — I cannot guarantee that. But it’s not a reserve — I’m sure of that."

Myronyak added: "Well, you are not quite informed, understand, about the reserve... I have a technical education, so read and understand. But what it’s not a reserve — that’s for sure there."

In the end, no specific answer. All ties with the family are formally denied. Real incomes remain unexplained. The companies are either closed or operational, but "not relevant to her." And the family business is not a business, but supposedly an initiative by distant relatives.

Investigation summary: facts that speak for themselves

Journalists gathered enough facts to form a complete picture. The mayor’s family of Yaremche, a town with a population of fewer than 10,000, owns:

• dozens of plots of land totaling over 4 hectares,
• a woodworking enterprise that operates actively,
• a hotel that has not been operational for several years,
• a tourist site within a protected area,
• an entire fleet of vehicles with dozens of transportation units,
• luxury real estate in Kyiv, including two apartments in "Herzen Park" and one in "Rusanivska Gavan."

Meanwhile, the roads in Yaremche remain broken, and the path to the kindergarten lacks asphalt coverage entirely.

At the same time:

• "Zori Karpat," previously winning tenders actively, today reports zeros;
• Nadiya Myronyak, as a sole proprietorship, remains in the simplified tax system, even though the reported income significantly exceeds the threshold level — instead of around 4 million hryvnias, only 600 thousand were paid to the budget;
• in Mykulychyn, where the family resides, the best roadways have been built — with paving, borders, lighting. These paths lead directly to the Myronyaks’ estate.

Ultimately, a city that could have been one of the Carpathians’ calling cards is more like a feudal estate, where tenders, businesses, infrastructure, and silent loyalty lie in the hands of a few. A family structure where everything is formally divided but practically interconnected. And the main thing is the lack of answers to the key question: where does the money come from?