In the shadow of a conflict of interest: the competition for the head of the State Customs Service is coming to an end, the final decision rests with the Minister of Finance
Kyiv • UNN
Journalists have uncovered business ties between members of the commission for selecting the head of the State Customs Service and candidate Vladyslav Suvorov. The commission denies a conflict of interest, despite their past joint work.
The competition for the position of head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, which was supposed to demonstrate transparency, integrity, and impartiality of personnel decisions, is under threat due to information about a possible conflict of interest involving the head and some members of the competition commission. This concerns circumstances that may indicate the existence of business ties with one of the candidates – Deputy Head of the State Customs Service Vladyslav Suvorov. The Commission, however, insists that no conflict of interest has been identified, writes UNN.
Which members of the Commission worked with Suvorov
Journalist Yevhen Plinsky previously reported on possible bias during the consideration of Vladyslav Suvorov's candidacy by the Commission for the selection of the head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine. According to his data, a potential conflict of interest may concern several members of the commission at once.
In particular, the head of the Commission, Kunio Mikuriya, while serving as Secretary General of the World Customs Organization, systematically worked with Suvorov.
"It was Suvorov who held annual meetings with the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization, Kunio Mikuriya, who, with the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers, became the head of the competition commission for the selection of the head of customs," Plinsky reported on his Facebook page.
Another member of the commission, Dmytro Oliynyk, head of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, according to the journalist, also repeatedly worked with Suvorov at joint events. In addition, according to Plinsky, Oliynyk, as head of the FEU, may have his own interest in the appointment of a loyal head of the State Customs Service.
"And if we talk about ties with the commission, Suvorov participated in events of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine, whose council chairman Dmytro Oliynyk also ended up among the members of the competition commission. Let's say mildly - the FEU has certain interests in customs," Plinsky wrote.
Another member of the Commission, Arunas Adomenas, who headed the EU project group for strengthening integrated border management in Ukraine (EU4IBM) in 2020-2023, also had regular working interaction with Vladyslav Suvorov, who worked on the project from the State Customs Service.
Requirements of legislation regarding potential conflict of interest
The facts presented by the journalist may indicate circumstances that raise reasonable doubts about the impartiality of those who are to evaluate the candidate. And this is precisely key in any competition for top positions in the state. In the case of customs, this issue is of particular importance, as it concerns an body that is one of the most sensitive in terms of corruption risks, international cooperation, fiscal stability, and European integration. That is why even a potential conflict of interest within such a competition cannot be perceived as a technical trifle or formality.
Moreover, Ukrainian legislation and the internal regulations of the Commission itself directly stipulate that such circumstances must not only be recorded but also properly studied and regulated. According to Part 10 of Article 570-2 of the Customs Code of Ukraine, members of the competition commission are obliged to report that they are or have been in personal or business relations with the candidate, as well as any other conflict of interest or circumstances that may affect their objectivity and impartiality. In such a case, they must recuse themselves from participating in the collection and consideration of information about the relevant candidate, as well as from voting on him. A similar requirement is contained in the Regulations of the commission itself. Paragraph 2.4.3 of the Regulations provides for the obligation of a commission member to report personal or business relations with a candidate or other circumstances that may affect impartiality, and paragraph 5.6 directly states: if such circumstances exist, the commission member recuses himself.
That is, in this situation, the key question is not only whether the commission members themselves consider their contacts with Suvorov "insignificant," but whether these contacts can objectively be perceived as influencing or potentially influencing the independence of their decision.
What does the Commission say?
The Commission for the selection of the head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, in response to a request from UNN, reported that they are aware of the contacts between the head and members of the Commission and candidate Vladyslav Suvorov. However, they assure that there is no conflict of interest in connection with their relations.
"Impartiality is a fundamental requirement for the Commission in exercising its mandate to select the Head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine. At its fifth meeting on December 17, 2025, the Commission checked for possible conflicts of interest among its members. Each member of the Commission declared any previous contacts with candidates. Kunio Mikuriya and Dmytro Oliynyk reported that they participated in the same conferences with one of the candidates, Vladyslav Suvorov. At the same time, they noted that such limited professional contact does not create a private interest, in particular one arising from personal or business relations, which could affect the objectivity or impartiality of their decision-making or the proper performance of official duties. Thus, no grounds for recusal of the Commission members were established," the Commission's response states.
What is the situation actually?
Interviews with the main candidates for the position of head of the State Customs Service have already taken place. The Commission, in particular, also spoke with Vladyslav Suvorov. However, the interview with Suvorov apparently turned out to be a "warm bath."
"It was interesting to hear that Poland and Turkey have completely stopped exchanging information with us since 2024. Suvorov directly stated that the Poles are interested in everything going to Ukraine as it goes. That is, by smuggling. And here it would be most interesting to know how he, as a profile deputy, solves this problem, but Dmytro Oliynyk, a commission member loyal to him, called it "sensitive information" and suggested hearing Suvorov without broadcasting.
It looked very strange," noted journalist Yevhen Plinsky.
He added that the customs development strategy proposed by Suvorov is not only not new, it envisages maintaining the work of the body in its current form.
Such a course of the interview indicates a rather selective approach of the commission and overly soft, loyal questions to Vladyslav Suvorov. At the same time, this further reinforces the demand for a strict, independent, and professional verification of the candidate, which obviously did not happen. After all, now there is an impression of unequal conditions for candidates and a privileged attitude towards one of them. And for competitions of this level, the very impression of possible bias is already a serious problem.
It should be noted that modern integrity standards require evaluating not only actual conflicts of interest, but also perceived or potential ones. This is precisely the logic consistently advocated by international institutions. For example, the recommendations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Council of Europe emphasize that effective conflict of interest resolution is one of the basic conditions for ensuring the integrity of public service. In other words, trust in personnel decisions arises not when society is simply told that "everything is legal," but when any reasonable doubts about the purity of the procedure are eliminated.
Instead of conclusions
Trust in the competitive procedure cannot be built solely on the internal conviction of the commission members themselves that they remain impartial. Competitions for top positions in the state must not only be legal but also not raise questions from society about their impartiality. If a candidate has professionally interacted for years with those who are now evaluating him in the competition, society has the right to an explanation of why this is "not a problem." In their absence, the logical step would be to replace the people. To whom questions arise.
It should be noted that the candidacy of the new head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine is ultimately approved by Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko. It is the head of the Ministry of Finance who will choose from the candidates provided by the Commission based on the results of the competition, and it is he who will bear political responsibility.
Recall
As UNN previously wrote, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption may conduct an audit of the lifestyle of Vladyslav Suvorov, deputy head of the State Customs Service, whose mother owns real estate worth about UAH 5 million.
Vladyslav Suvorov, together with his wife and children, has been living since 2024 in an apartment of more than 100 sq. m in the elite residential complex Greenville Park in Kyiv's Podil district. This apartment is registered in the name of the official's mother, Olha Suvorova, who, according to the declaration of Volodymyr Suvorov, the official's father, has only a pension as income.
The cost of such housing starts from 230 thousand dollars without renovation, although the father's declaration states that it was purchased in 2022 for 3.2 million UAH (approximately 87 thousand dollars at the then exchange rate).
In addition, in the same residential complex, Olha Suvorova has two more parking spaces, purchased in 2025 for more than 400 thousand UAH each.
It is worth noting that, according to the analytical platform YouControl, Olha Suvorova has no business. At the same time, her husband's declaration states that Olha Suvorova also has a house in Izmail, and Volodymyr Suvorov has an official apartment there, which is owned by the Pridunaiska Customs.
In addition, according to media reports, the brother of Vladyslav Suvorov's wife owns a commercial premises in Greenville Park.
Also, according to the customs officer's declaration, his wife Maryna Suvorova purchased two brand new TOYOTA RAV4 cars last year for more than 2 million UAH each. The purchases were made with a one-month difference. It should be noted that Maryna Suvorova works at the State Information and Analytical Center for Monitoring Foreign Commodity Markets (SE "Derzhzovnishinform") and her annual salary is slightly more than 500 thousand UAH.
In addition, the family's declarations annually indicate significant amounts of cash, including in foreign currency.
It should be noted that in 2021, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption already conducted an audit of Vladyslav Suvorov's declarations. At that time, he submitted an updated declaration for 2020, in which he indicated an apartment in which his wife had a share. However, this was before the official's mother acquired elite real estate.