The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has been monitoring the lifestyle of the former acting Deputy Head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, Yevheniy Sokur, who is currently working as an assistant to the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, Danylo Hetmantsev, for six months. The terms of the inspection are already expiring, and any delay will allow Sokur to avoid responsibility, UNN writes.
Forgot/remembered about his common-law wife
While in office at the State Tax Service, Yevheniy Sokur, in accordance with current legislation, annually submitted declarations of income to the NACP. As UNN found out, the former official had been providing false information in documents for years. He did not include information about the fact that he has been living together since 2016 with Alina Lyebyedyeva, the owner of a flower boutique in the center of Kyiv.
When this information became public, Nina Yuzhanina, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, appealed to the NACP with a deputy request regarding whether Sokur was indeed declaring false information. In September 2024, the National Agency announced that it had launched an appropriate audit, which is still ongoing.
The Cabinet of Ministers dismissed Sokur from the State Tax Service on January 3, 2025. The former official, in accordance with current legislation, submitted a new declaration to the NACP in connection with his dismissal, and later – an annual declaration for 2024.
In the latest documents, after the scandal and the NACP's investigation, Sokur stated that he lives with Alina Lyebyedyeva. However, the declaration did not indicate what income his common-law wife receives, stating that Lyebyedyeva did not provide him with this information.
Monitoring terms
In accordance with current legislation, the NACP's monitoring of an official's lifestyle lasts no more than 120 calendar days. In some cases, it may be extended for another 60 days if there are justified reasons. This audit is aimed at identifying discrepancies between declared data and real assets, including income and expenses of officials.
Kateryna Butko, Head of the Public Council at the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, also noted in a comment to UNN that monitoring of an official's lifestyle can last a maximum of 180 days. If the deadlines are violated, the object of the audit may demand its termination and thus avoid responsibility.
"The object of the audit may demand the closure of such an audit if there are violations of the deadlines. But in any case, the court will simply close the case if a protocol with violations of the deadlines is received. Therefore, this is simply not allowed. The term for bringing to justice for lying in a declaration is very short, so there is no point in even checking for a long time. This is not an audit for the sake of an audit," said Kateryna Butko.
She added that after a full audit, the NACP provides information to law enforcement, who, in turn, must conduct an appropriate investigation and submit the case to court. In addition, the case must still be considered by the first and appellate instances. "The whole process of bringing a person to justice takes 3 years. Therefore, even if a full audit is done in 100 days, it is not a fact that other processes will have time to pass. And if it takes more than six months (the monitoring lasts - ed.), then nothing will definitely have time to go further," explained Kateryna Butko.
Will there be no punishment?
The monitoring of Sokur's lifestyle, as already mentioned, began in September, so the terms of the audit are already expiring. The NACP claims that the monitoring is still ongoing, but it all boils down to an attempt to delay the process and help Sokur avoid responsibility for possible violations.
It is possible that his current supervisor, Danylo Hetmantsev, who has a long-standing working relationship with Sokur, including when the latter was in office at the State Tax Service, could have contributed to the NACP's loyal attitude towards Sokur. It is worth recalling that the first wife of the head of the Verkhovna Rada's Tax Committee, Tetyana Hetmantseva, works at the NACP, they have a common son, for whose education the MP has recently been paying, and therefore it can be concluded that the former spouses continue to communicate, and it is possible that not only on domestic topics.
Delaying the NACP's audits of the lifestyle of officials, even those who have already been dismissed, such as Sokur, may not only help them avoid responsibility, but also undermine the effectiveness of anti-corruption policy as a whole. This, in turn, creates a dangerous precedent and gives confidence to dishonest officials that punishment can be averted.
Let us remind you
A criminal investigation is also being conducted against Sokur for abuse of office. This case was opened by the State Bureau of Investigation on November 4, 2022 under Part 3 of Article 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, on the fact of Sokur's abuse of power, who on October 26, 2022 signed an order to cancel PJSC Ukrtatnafta's license for the production of fuel. According to the investigation, such actions of the official caused serious consequences for the company, as well as for the state, in the form of the impossibility of fulfilling the Ministry of Defense's mobilization tasks for the production and supply of petroleum products for the needs of defense and defense capability of the state. The State Bureau of Investigation informed UNN that this criminal proceeding is still under investigation.