Cherchez la femme, or how a “hidden” cohabitant can ruin the career of one of the top tax officials

The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) has started monitoring the lifestyle of the acting deputy head of the State Tax Service, Yevhen Sokur, after information emerged that one of the country's top tax officials may have been hiding the fact that he had a live-in girlfriend for years. Experts interviewed by UNN believe that the official should be suspended from his duties for the duration of the audit, and if violations of anti-corruption legislation are found, he should be immediately fired.

According to UNN, acting Deputy Head of the State Tax Service Yevhen Sokur entered probably inaccurate data in his 2023 declaration. In particular, he did not provide information about his live-in girlfriend in the document. During the investigation into the alleged assassination attempt, Sokur himself told law enforcement officers that since 2016 he had been living with a girl named Alina in an apartment at 6-D Lobanovskoho Avenue.

Following a parliamentary appeal from Nina Yuzhanina, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, the NACP launched an inspection of Yevhen Sokur. In response to a request from UNN, the Agency also confirmed that they are monitoring whether Sokur's lifestyle is consistent with his declarations. The head of the Public Council at the NAPC, Kateryna Butko, noted that the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption is checking whether Sokur and his partner Alina lived together.

What lawyers say

According to Dmytro KasyanenkoKasyanenko & Partners law firm's attorney, Sokur has probably violated the law on financial control in this way.

"The Law of Ukraine "On Prevention of Corruption" requires civil servants to declare not only their personal property and income, but also the property and income of their family members, which also includes persons who live together, have a common life and have mutual rights and obligations (Article 1 of the Law). If Yevhen Sokur has been living with his cohabitant since 2016, but did not indicate this information in his declarations, this may be a violation of the legislation on financial control," the lawyer noted.

Managing partner of GRACERS, lawyer Serhiy Lysenko emphasized that Sokur will not be able to recant his testimony as a victim during interrogation, as it will have consequences.

"Another legal nuance is also interesting. Thus, if Yevhen Sokur recants his testimony regarding his residence since 2016 with a person named Alina, there may be no less negative consequences for the latter, namely, bringing him to criminal liability under Article 384 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misleading a court or other authorized body)," Lysenko noted.

According to him, if the NACP's monitoring confirms that an official has committed a violation of anti-corruption legislation, he or she will face administrative or criminal liability depending on the amount of undeclared property.

Not a single cohabitant

In addition, in response to a request from UNN, the NACP reported that on April 21, 2022, the State Tax Service  requested the Agency to conduct an audit of Yevhen Sokur. The appeal was sent to the Agency despite the fact that in 2022 the NACP did not conduct such checks due to the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia. That is, the State Tax Service probably realized that no one would check Sokur's declarations.

The request of the State Tax Service was related to the fact that in April 2022, Yevhen Sokur applied for the position of head of the Economic Analysis Department of the State Tax Service, but the competition was failed by the former assistant to the head of the Rada Tax Committee, Danylo Hetmantsev. On April 18, 2022, Maryna Baryakhtar was announced the winner of the selection, who, according to media reports, refused to take the position three days later.

In fact, Baryakhtar gave way to Sokur, whom the media call Hetmantsev's right-hand man in the tax service. At the time, Sokur, who had never worked at the State Tax Service, needed this position to pave the way for the acting deputy head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine. After all, just two weeks later, on May 7, he was promoted to this leadership position.

Presumably, Barakhtyar was promoted to the position of Director of the Risk Management Department for her complaisance.

Interestingly, according to media reports, at the same time, Sokur used the zero declaration mechanism and indicated UAH 2.5 million, the legal origin of which he would not otherwise have been able to explain to the inspectors. This means that he had actually concealed them from the tax authorities. 

Suspension and dismissal

Experts interviewed by UNN emphasize that the suspension of Yevhen Sokur from his duties as Deputy Head of the State Tax Service for the period of the NACP monitoring is a step that will contribute to the objectivity and transparency of the process. Such audits, like investigations of any kind, can cause a public outcry and jeopardize trust in the civil service system. Therefore, it is important that the officials undergoing the inspection do not hold their positions during the monitoring.

In particular, the head of the #SaveFOP movement Serhiy Dorotych noted that in a fair state, an official like Sokur would be removed from office immediately after journalists discovered facts of violation of anti-corruption legislation. "The next step is a quick and prompt investigation of the facts and, if confirmed, immediate dismissal, opening of criminal proceedings and exemplary punishment, with confiscation of property, because civil servants are not the private sector, they have all their wealth from the state budget, they eat from it. Therefore, confiscation of property and a ban on holding any positions paid for by the state budget," he emphasized.

Dorotych is convinced that Sokur's case is another indicator of how Ukrainian officials disregard the law. "They believe that laws are not written for them, and that serfs and slaves have to obey the laws. This is the way things are here and they are not changing. And the fish rots from the head, and unfortunately, our head does not draw conclusions from previous mistakes and does not take tough measures against his team in the first place," he said.

Experts are convinced that those who lie in their declarations have no place in public service. "Of course, people who provide false information about themselves, their relatives, and violate the rules of declaration in general should not be in public service and should be brought to justice, it is obvious," said Andriy Dligach, head of Advanter Group and co-founder of the Center for Economic Recovery.

Add

Earlier, UNN reported that the attempted assassination of the acting deputy head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, Yevhen Sokur, raises many questions about its authenticity. It could have been staged to divert attention from the criminal proceedings against Sokur for abuse of office.

This is a criminal proceeding opened on November 4, 2022 under Part 3 of Art. 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, on the fact of abuse of office by the acting Deputy Head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine Yevhen Sokur, who on October 26, 2022 issued an order to revoke the license of PJSC Ukrtatnafta for the production of fuel. Such actions of Sokur, according to the investigation, caused serious consequences for the company and the state in the form of the inability to fulfill the mobilization tasks of the Ministry of Defense for the production and supply of petroleum products for the needs of defense and defense capability of the state.