Cleansing of the Tax Service from Hetmantsev's people continues: Yevhen Sokur is next to go

Acting Deputy Head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine Yevhen Sokur, MP Danylo Hetmantsev's right-hand man in the tax service, is the next candidate for dismissal after the resignation of the Director of the Department of Taxation of Legal Entities of the State Tax Service, Tetiana Hrechana. Personnel purges in the service indicate a decrease in Hetmantsev's backroom influence on tax officials, UNN writes.

Recently, it became known that the director of the Department of Taxation of Legal Entities of the State Tax Service, Tetyana Hrechana, was dismissed. The media has long noted her closeness to the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, Danylo Hetmantsev, calling her his "man" in the tax office. According to sources of UNN in the tax office, Hetmantsev was categorically against her dismissal and tried to do everything to keep Grechana in office.

This step is likely to initiate a series of personnel changes in the Tax Service, which are intended to weaken Hetmantsev's influence and "cleanse" the state agency of proteges of the Tax Committee chairman. In particular, the possibility of dismissing the acting deputy head of the State Tax Service, Yevhen Sokur, who was previously an assistant to the MP, is already being discussed. Experts and tax officials say that Sokur is Hetmantsev's "right hand" in the tax service. Therefore, his suspension may be another blow to the influence of the head of the Tax Committee on the activities of the State Tax Service.

Sokur's dismissal is highly likely, as his activities have recently attracted a lot of attention from both the media and law enforcement. In particular, it is known that the SBI is investigating criminal proceedings 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.

In addition, as UNN reported , Sokur did not indicate his cohabitant in the declaration, which may lead to administrative and criminal liability. 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

However, given Hetmantsev's long-standing influence on the tax authority, we can expect that he will try to prevent his protege from being fired, or, if Sokur is fired, he will try to get his own man into the position.

Recall

These dismissals  come amid constant talk about the need to reform the Cabinet of Ministers and reform the tax and customs services. Even the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that there will be personnel changes in the Government in the near future. After all, according to him, there are many acting officials who cannot cover all the issues. It is possible that this will eventually apply to the State Tax Service, where the leadership has been working in the status of "acting" for several years.