NACP: inspection of lifestyle of acting Deputy Head of the State Tax Service Sokur is still ongoing

The lifestyle monitoring of the acting deputy head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, Yevhen Sokur, conducted by the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, has not yet been completed. This was reported by the NAPC in response to a request by UNN.

Context

According to UNN, Sokur entered probably unreliable data in his 2023 declaration. In particular, he did not provide information about his live-in girlfriend. Earlier, during the investigation into the alleged attempted 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. After a deputy appeal from 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 they are monitoring  the official's lifestyle. Kateryna Butko, head of the Public Council at the NACP, noted that the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption is checking whether Sokur and his partner Alina lived together.

Also, in 2022, he declared income from the sale of securities in the amount of UAH 2.6 million, but these funds were not reflected in his declaration for 2023. This may indicate a violation of the law requiring notification of significant changes in property status. According to Article 52 of the Law of Ukraine "On Prevention of Corruption," the declarant is obliged to report such changes within 10 days. According to Oleksandr Zolotukhin, a member of the National Bar Association, the official may try to explain why he did not declare these expenses by saying that he leads a certain lifestyle and, for example, likes to eat out.

"In response to your request, we would like to inform you that the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption is still monitoring the lifestyle of the acting deputy head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, Yevhen Sokur," the NAPC said.

Add

A criminal investigation is also underway against Sokur. This case was opened by the SBI on November 4, 2022, under Part 3 of Article 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, on the fact of abuse of office by Sokur, who signed an order on October 26, 2022, to revoke the license of PJSC Ukrtatnafta for the production of fuel. Such actions of the official, 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 the state's defense capability. The State Bureau of Investigation informed UNN that this criminal proceeding is still under investigation.

It is interesting that the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy has not yet responded to this situation with one of the heads of the tax service. It is possible that the lack of reaction is due to the fact that before his appointment to the State Tax Service, Sokur was an assistant to the chairman of this committee, Danylo Hetmantsev, and at the same time worked for the law firm Yurimex, which is associated with Danylo Hetmantsev. Therefore, the MP, despite publicly declaring intolerance to violations of the law by tax officials, is probably making every effort to "cover up" his protege, as Sokur is called in the media.

Recall

In April 2022, Sokur failed the selection for the position of head of the Economic Analysis Department of the State Tax Service. 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. That is, she actually gave way to Sokur, whom the media call Hetmantsev's right-hand man at the tax office. At the time, the young official 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 was promoted to this leadership position. It is possible that there was an agreement with Barakhtyar, because she did not leave the State Tax Service, taking the position of Director of the Risk Management Department. 

According to the agency's interlocutors from among the tax authorities, after Sokur was appointed to the top position, it was with his help that Hetmantsev began to control the personnel policy of the state body and appoint loyal people to positions. In particular, the acting deputy head of the State Tax Service personally travels to the regions to appoint or dismiss heads of regional tax offices. 

In addition, according to media reports , Sokur took over the key most profitable and at the same time the most corrupt areas of the tax service. These include licensing, appointment of tax audits, as well as work with tax invoices and adjustment calculations. 

Therefore, it is not surprising that Hetmantsev, who publicly declares zero tolerance for corruption in the tax service and violations committed by its officials, seems to turn a blind eye to the alleged crimes of his protege.