Lawyer: absence of almost UAH 2.6 million in the declaration of one of the country's top tax officials Sokur may be a reason for NACP investigation

In 2022, the acting deputy head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, Yevhen Sokur, declared income from the sale of securities worth almost UAH 2.6 million, but the 2023 declaration does not reflect these funds, nor any other expenses or investments. This situation may indicate a violation of the law, which requires declarants to report significant changes in their property status. This opinion was expressed by Dmytro Kasyanenko, attorney at law at "Kasyanenko & Partners", in an exclusive commentary to UNN.

Context

Acting Deputy Head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine Yevhen Sokur did not reflect in his declaration for 2023 almost UAH 2.6 million from the sale of securities received in 2022 and did not report any changes in his property status. According to estimates of UNN, Sokur spent a total of more than 2.7 million hryvnias and 2 thousand dollars in a year, which is more than 226.5 thousand hryvnias per month. However, according to his tax returns, he did not acquire any new real or personal property.

If the declaration for 2022 indicated income from the sale of securities in the amount of UAH 2.6 million, but these funds were not reflected in the declaration for 2023, and no expenses, purchases, loans or investments were indicated, this may be considered a violation. According to Art. 52 of the Law of Ukraine "On Prevention of Corruption", the declarant is obliged to report significant changes in property status within 10 days after receiving income or making an expenditure in an amount exceeding 50 subsistence minimums for able-bodied persons (at the time of the event)

According to him, if such a declaration was not filed, it is a violation. The lawyer added that the intentional submission of false information in the declaration (in the amount of more than UAH 1 million) is subject to criminal liability under Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The sanction of the article includes a fine, community service, or restraint of liberty for up to two years. If the violation is not so serious or not intentional, administrative liability may be imposed under Article 172-6 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (violation of financial control requirements), which provides for a fine of UAH 17,000 to UAH 42,500.

"According to the law, significant expenses must be indicated in the declarations if they exceed a certain threshold established by law. For 2023, this amounts to an amount equivalent to 50 subsistence minimums for able-bodied persons (about UAH 124,050 at the beginning of the year). Therefore, the total expenditure of more than UAH 120 thousand requires an explanation, especially if the funds were spent in one payment or in connection with one significant obligation," Kasyanenko emphasized.

He also clarified that in case of improper reflection of information in the declaration or its absence, administrative liability may also be imposed under Article 172-6 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (violation of financial control requirements), which provides for fines. In case of intentional concealment of expenses or improper declaration of large expenses, criminal liability is also possible under Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Recall

Earlier, UNN reported that the acting deputy head of the State Tax Service, Yevhen Sokur, had entered probably inaccurate datain his 2023 declaration. In particular, he did not provide information about his partner 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 deputy appeal by Nina Yuzhanina, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, the NACP launched an investigation into Yevhen Sokur. In response to a request from UNN, the Agency also confirmed that it is monitoring Sokur's lifestyle. Kateryna Butko, head of the Public Council at the NAPC, noted that the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption is checking whether Sokur and his live-in girlfriend Alina had a common life.

Add

As it turned out, on April 21, 2022, the State Tax Service requested the NACP to conduct a monitoring check on Yevhen Sokur. The monitoring did not take place because of martial law declared due to Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the tax office could not but know that the inspection would not take place.

Interestingly, in April 2022, Yevhen Sokur was selected for the position of head of the Economic Analysis Department of the State Tax Service, but the former assistant to the head of the Rada's tax committee, Danylo Hetmantsev, failed the competition. 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 other words, she actually gave way to Sokur, whom the media call Hetmantsev's right-hand man at the tax office. At the time, Sokur, who had never worked at the State Tax Service, needed this position as an intermediate step to the position of acting deputy head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine. After all, just two weeks later, on May 7, he received this leadership position. It is possible that there was an agreement with Barakhtyar, since she did not leave the STS, taking the position of Director of the Risk Management Department.