The introduction of lifestyle monitoring as one of the tools of financial control over the assets of public officials was envisaged by law back in 2016. However, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) started applying and improving it only in 2020.
During this time, lifestyle monitoring has evolved from a procedure that serves as a basis for verifying declarations to a separate financial control tool for detecting unjustified assets and illicit enrichment.
"Thanks to lifestyle monitoring, we can establish whether the declarants' living standards correspond to their income, even when assets are hidden from declaration and registered in nominee names. The use of illegally acquired assets is one of the main problems that undermines trust in public institutions. We are actively using the civil forfeiture tool, thanks to which in 2024, based on the NACP materials, the HACC recovered about UAH 24.7 million to the state. Civil forfeiture allows for a quicker recovery of property from an official and dismissal from office compared to criminal proceedings, which helps to cleanse the government of dishonest individuals. Also, compared to 2023, we managed to achieve better results by optimizing the staff, adopting and implementing the Procedure for Monitoring the Lifestyle of Declarants, changing the approach to the selection of materials and further support to suspicions and court decisions,” said Dmytro Sokolov, Head of the Department for Lifestyle Monitoring and Control over the Completeness of NACP Declarations.
In 2024, NACP conducted 167 lifestyle monitoring of the declarants. The NACP forwarded 42 materials and substantiated conclusions with signs of unjustified assets and illicit enrichment for about UAH 740 million to law enforcement agencies.
For comparison, in 2023, the NACP specialists conducted 553 lifestyle monitoring of the declaring entities, as a result of which 47 materials were sent to law enforcement agencies with signs of unjustified assets and illicit enrichment worth more than UAH 598 million.
In 2024, 22 substantiated conclusions were drawn up with signs of an offense under Art. 368-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine “Illegal enrichment” for more than UAH 650 million. After reviewing the NACP materials, law enforcement officers served suspicion notices:
- Head of the Central Food Supply Department of the Logistics Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
- a member of the Ukrainian Parliament;
- Chief Inspector of one of the divisions of the Cyber Police Department of the National Police of Ukraine. In all these cases, the indictment was sent to court;
- Head of the Main Department of Capital Investments of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine;
- Head of the State Ecological Inspectorate of the Carpathian District;
- the heads of the Dnipropetrovs'k district and one of the district territorial centers for recruitment and social support in Odesa;
- the former head of the SBU Main Department of Internal Security.
The NACP also forwarded 20 materials to the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) containing signs of acquisition of unjustified assets worth almost UAH 90 million. In turn, the SAP filed nine lawsuits with the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) to recognize assets as unjustified and recover them for the state's revenue for about UAH 42 million in relation to:
- 6 land plots and a house in Kyiv region worth UAH 8.6 million belonging to the head of one of the sectors of the Pivdennyi customs post of Kyiv Customs. The HACC recovered the property for the state at the request of the SAPO;
- a vehicle and cash, i.e. assets worth about UAH 6.9 million, of the head of the Territorial Service Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Dnipropetrovs'k region. The HACC recognized the assets worth about UAH 6.7 million as unjustified and recovered them for the state;
- UAH 2.45 million of the Deputy Head of the Criminal Analysis Department of the National Police of Ukraine;
- more than UAH 4.47 million of the head of one of the departments of the Department for Combating Drug Crimes;
- UAH 5.18 million to the head of one of the departments of the Central Interregional Department of the State Migration Service of Ukraine in Kyiv and Kyiv region;
- UAH 4.5 million to the head of the Main Department of the State Tax Service in Poltava region;
- a residential building and a land plot worth UAH 2.63 million to the head of the Verkhnekoropets village council in Zakarpattia region;
- UAH 8.7 million to the deputy head of the National Police in Kyiv;
- UAH 3.31 million to the head of a department of the Main Department of the National Police in Kyiv.
Thus, based on the lifestyle monitoring materials, the HACC recognized assets worth about UAH 24.7 million as unjustified.
Several decisions on civil forfeiture were also made by the HACC Appeals Chamber. These include the forfeiture to the state of almost UAH 7 million of unjustified assets of a State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) employee and his wife, a prosecutor of the Vinnytsia Regional Prosecutor's Office, as well as over UAH 2.4 million of a former deputy head of one of the customs posts of the Odesa Customs.
"In 2024, following the recommendations of the external audit, NACP divided some functions, so a separate unit monitors the lifestyle of intelligence officers and persons holding positions related to state secrets. The main priority of this unit, as in the previous year, and in 2025, will be to improve the legislation governing financial control and develop mechanisms to avoid corruption risks without violating the confidentiality and rights of the subjects of inspections. In 2025, we will continue to improve lifestyle monitoring tools, applying a risk-based approach to more effectively identify potential threats and ensure financial transparency, and strengthening the Agency's ability to search for assets abroad and cryptocurrencies. Strengthening of interagency cooperation and interaction with the public will play an important role, which will help unite efforts in the fight against corruption and ensure openness and accountability of public authorities,” said NACP Head Viktor Pavlushchyk.
To ensure transparency and accountability of declarants, it is equally important to have an automated process for detecting false information in the submitted declarations, which is carried out by controlling the completeness of the declarations. In 2024, the NACP conducted more than 140 checks on the completeness of declarations, revealing 125 facts of false declarations worth more than UAH 836 million. NACP made 101 substantiated conclusions, including 69 on criminal offenses amounting to almost UAH 834 million, which resulted in 3 guilty verdicts. In 32 cases, administrative offenses amounting to about UAH 29 million were detected, and 5 people were brought to justice.
