Sherche la femme, or how a “hidden” roommate can destroy the career of one of the main tax collectors

The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NACP) has started monitoring the lifestyle of acting of the deputy head of the State Tax Service, Yevhenii Sokur, after the information appeared that one of the country’s chief tax officers probably hid data about having a cohabitant for years. Experts interviewed UNN believe that the official should be suspended from his duties during the inspection, and if violations of the anti-corruption legislation are discovered, he should be immediately dismissed.

According to the data UNNacting Deputy Head of the State Tax Service Yevgeny Sokur entered probably unreliable data in the declaration for 2023. In particular, he did not indicate the data about his roommate in the document. During the investigation into the alleged attempt on him, Sokur himself told the law enforcement officers that since 2016 he has been living with a girl named Alina in an apartment on Lobanovskyi Avenue, 6-D. However, in his declarations, Sokur never mentioned his roommate.

After the parliamentary appeal of Nina Yuzhanina, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, the NAZC started an investigation into Yevgeny Sokur. In the Agency in response to the request UNN also confirmed that they are monitoring the compliance of Sokur’s lifestyle with his declarations. The head of the Public Council under NAZK, Kateryna Butko, noted that the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption is checking whether Sokur lived together with his roommate Alina.

What lawyers say

According to Dmytro Kasyanenko, the lawyer of AB “Kasyanenko and Partners”, in this way Sokur probably violated the legislation in the field of financial control.

“The Law of Ukraine “On Prevention of Corruption” requires civil servants to declare not only their personal property and income, but also the property and income of their family members, which also includes persons who live together, lead a common life and have mutual rights and duties (Article 1 of the Law). If Sokur Yevhenii has been living with a roommate since 2016, but did not indicate this data in his declarations, this may be a violation of the legislation on financial control,” the lawyer said.

The managing partner of GRACERS, lawyer Serhiy Lysenko emphasized that Sokur will not be able to give up his testimony, which he gave during the interrogation, as a victim, because it will have consequences.

“There is also another legal nuance that is interesting. For example, in the case of Yevgeny Sokur’s refusal to testify about his residence since 2016 with a person named Alina, there may be no less negative consequences for the latter, namely, bringing him to criminal liability under Article 384 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misleading the court or other authorized body),” Lysenko noted.

According to him, if it is confirmed as a result of the monitoring of the National Security Agency that the official has committed a violation of anti-corruption legislation, he will face administrative or criminal liability depending on the amount of undeclared property.

Not the only roommate

In addition, in response to the request UNN the NAZK reported that on April 21, 2022, the DPS appealed to the Agency to conduct a check on Yevgeny Sokur. The appeal was sent to the Agency, despite the fact that in 2022, the NAZK did not conduct such inspections in connection with the large-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine. That is, the DPS probably understood that no one would check Sokur’s declaration.

The request of the DPS was related to the fact that in April 2022, Yevgeny Sokur applied for the position of head of the department of economic analysis of the DPS, but the former assistant to the chairman of the Tax Committee of the Council, Danylo Hetmantsev, failed the competition at that time. Maryna Baryakhtar was announced as the winner of the selection on April 18, 2022, who, according to the media, refused to take the post three days later.

In fact, Baryakhtar gave way to Sokur, whom the media call Hetmantsev’s right hand in the tax department. At that time, Sokur, who had never worked at the DPS, needed this position in order to open the way to the chair of the acting head of state. deputy head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine. After all, in just two weeks – on May 7 – he received this managerial position.

Presumably, for her compliance, Barakhtyar got the position of director of the risk management department.

It is interesting that at the same time, according to the media, Sokur used the zero declaration mechanism and indicated 2.5 million hryvnias, the legal origin of which he would not have been able to explain to the inspectors under other circumstances. That is, it means that earlier he actually hid them from the tax office.

Suspension and dismissal

Experts interviewed UNNemphasize that the suspension of Yevgeny Sokur from the duties of the deputy head of the DPS for the period of monitoring by the National Security Agency is a step that will contribute to the objectivity and transparency of the process. Such inspections, like investigations of any kind, can cause a public outcry and jeopardize trust in the civil service system. Therefore, during the monitoring it is important that the officials who are being checked do not occupy their posts.

In particular, the head of the #SaveFOP movement, Serhii Dorotych, noted that in a just state, an official like Sokur would be removed from his duties immediately after journalists discovered the facts of violations of anti-corruption legislation. “The next step is a quick and prompt investigation of the facts and, if confirmed, immediate dismissal, initiation of criminal proceedings and demonstrative punishment, with confiscation of property, because civil servants are not the private sector, they have all their wealth at the expense of the state budget, they they feed on it. Therefore, confiscation of property and a ban on holding any positions that are paid for from the state budget,” he emphasized.

Dorotych is convinced that the case of Sokur is another indicator of how Ukrainian officials despise the law. “They believe that laws are not written for them, and serfs and serfs – they must obey the laws. This is the way it has turned out for us and it will not change. And the fish rots from the head, and, unfortunately, our head does not draw conclusions from previous mistakes and does not takes strict measures, first of all, to his team,” he said.

Experts are convinced that those who lie in their declarations have no place in public service. “Of course, people who provide inaccurate information about themselves and their relatives are in general violation of declaration norms, should not be in public service and should be prosecuted in general,” said the head of Advanter Group, co-founder of the Center for Economic Recovery Andriy Dligach.

Let’s add

Earlier UNN told that the attempt on acting Deputy Head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine Yevgeny Soka ra raises many questions about its authenticity. It could have been staged to divert attention from the criminal proceedings against Sokur for abuse of office.

This is a criminal proceeding opened on November 4, 2022 under Part 3 of Art. 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, due to the fact that the acting deputy head of the DPS of Ukraine, Yevgeny Sokur, exceeded his official authority, who on October 26, 2022, adopted an order to cancel the license of PJSC “Ukrtatnafta” for the production of fuel. Such actions of Sokur, according to the investigation, caused serious consequences for the society, as well as for the state in the form of the impossibility of fulfilling the mobilization tasks of the Ministry of Defense for the production and supply of oil products for the needs of defense and defense capability of the state.