Journalists Expose Customs Officials' Luxury: Who Funds the Lives of Kyiv Customs Officials.

According to ТСН: Employees of the Kyiv Customs, which occupies leading positions in Ukraine in terms of revenues to the state budget, have come under the scrutiny of the investigation project "Khapuga.UA". Journalists discovered several officials who use undeclared luxury cars and live in prestigious properties, the source of income for which raises significant doubts.

Kyiv Customs: Record Revenues and Hidden Wealth

Kyiv Customs is an important source of revenues for the state budget. In October, it provided a record 18.6 billion UAH, exceeding the revenues of all border customs combined.

However, according to investigators, customs officers also skillfully fill their pockets, hiding their assets from the public and registering them under relatives or front men.

Department Head Kostiantyn Rudenko and His Undeclared 'Highlander'

The investigation began with Kostiantyn Rudenko, the head of the department, who drives a brand new Toyota Highlander worth about 1.8 million UAH every day. This car is not mentioned in the official's declaration, only an old Honda Pilot.

• Shared Use: Every morning, the Toyota drives into a garage next to his house, from which his wife Natalia Myletsa, who holds the position of deputy head of Kyiv Customs, exits.

When journalist Taras Seredych asked Kostiantyn about the car, the official just understated and drove away to an unknown location. Later it turned out that the owner of the car is Volodymyr Pidrushniak, a former customs officer. When asked about the reasons for using the car, he said:

"What connects us? It's just a devoted, devoted person, a sincere Ukrainian, a tall and great professional, and a wise person. I once had the honor of working with him."

Customs Chief Serhii Siliuk and the 'Combined' Apartment with His Wife's Sister

Head of Kyiv Customs Serhii Siliuk has held this position for almost four years and has experience in the SBU. His declaration looks modest: last year's income—over a million hryvnias, and his wife's income—36 thousand UAH.

• Car fleet: rented Mercedes E-class and Volvo XC90, which are registered to his wife's sister.

• Real estate: an apartment in Lutsk, plots in Volyn, and a small apartment in the capital in Residential Complex "Parkove Misto".

Scheme with the Neighboring Apartment: Siliuk declares a small one-room apartment, but the neighboring apartment belongs to Ludmila Romaniuk, his wife's biological sister.

"If you combine it with a small one-room apartment, it can turn into a decent 'three-room', which would be comfortable for all Siliuks," the investigation states.

Since Ludmila Romaniuk does not run any business, the question remains open: where does she have money for the car and apartment in Kyiv?

Undeclared Audi A6 of His Wife: near the massage studio of the customs officer's wife, journalists noticed a matte Audi A6. Iryna Siliuk insisted it was a friend's car. However, journalists recorded the car heading to the tennis courts in the evening:

"Wait, why am I lying to you? ... When I say I drove, it means once."

After the journalists' appearance, according to the media, the Siliuks even refused to declare the cars.

Customs Post Chief Oleksandr Tsentnaruk: $350,000 on a Pensioner

Chief of the customs post Oleksandr Tsentnaruk also uses unjustified assets.

• Car: Volkswagen Touareg.

• Housing: an apartment in the elite Residential Complex "Parus" on Obolon.

The owner of this property is 75-year-old Valentyna Lomova. No information about her business has been found. How Tsentnaruk "temporarily" uses such property remains a mystery.

Inspector Anastasia Makaruk: 'It Will Be Declared in 2025'

Inspector Anastasia Makaruk drives an Audi Q5. She refused to introduce herself but later explained that the car would be included in her declaration for 2025.

It turned out that the car is registered to her grandfather, pensioner Mykola Fedorchenko.

Schemes at Kyiv Customs: Code Substitution and Bribes for Customs Clearance of Cars

There are schemes with documents at Kyiv Customs:

1. Code Substitution: decreasing the customs value of goods, which reduces revenues to the budget.

2. Bribes for Customs Clearance of Cars: creating difficulties for registering used cars, after which entrepreneurs are offered "solutions to the problems" for a fee.

The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine confirms these facts:

"According to the investigation, officials established a scheme for obtaining money from entrepreneurs engaged in the import of used cars... During the receipt of the next amount of illegal benefit in the amount of 2,400 US dollars, both officials were detained."

The situation around Kyiv Customs raises concerns in society about possible abuses among officials. Open investigations signal serious transparency issues in the work of customs authorities. Among officials, there may be instances of corruption that require urgent disclosure and punishment. The situation with budget revenues should not interfere with controlling bodies not just to assist, but also to directly contribute to the purification from abuses in the future.