During the war, thousands of domestic security forces stood up in defense of Ukraine, and their colleagues in the rear confronted an equally terrible internal enemy - corruption. However, unfortunately, there are some exceptions - werewolves in uniform, casting a shadow on the entire law enforcement system. A striking example was the case of the beating of StopKor journalists in the Carpathian region, in which the attacker - the head of the regional VHI Sergei Saev - has not yet received official suspicion. After all, he probably has a reliable “roof” in the person of the head of the regional prosecutor’s office, Roman Khima.
The media continues to investigate the activities of the main “migration leader” of the Carpathian region, Sergei Saev and his entourage. And today the regional prosecutor Roman Khima came into the focus of our attention.
Dmitry Verbitsky, Andrey Andreev, Rostislav Ilnitsky, Roman Khima - what do all these names have in common, besides serving in senior positions in the prosecutor's office? As it turns out, they all experience an amazing craving for a beautiful life and estates that do not correspond to the official income of law enforcement officers, and at different times came to the attention of investigative journalists from StopCor and our colleagues from other publications.
Thus, according to informed sources, it is precisely friendly ties with the head of the Ivano-Frankivsk regional prosecutor’s office, Roman Khima, that is likely the reason that the scandalous chief migration officer of the Carpathian region, Sergei Saev, has not yet received suspicion in the case of the attack on the StopKor film crew in the restaurant “ Knuckle." And this is a blatant example of how just one dubious “cog” slows down and discredits the work of the entire law enforcement mechanism.
Let us remember that in this establishment the chief migration officer of the Carpathian region probably held a “gathering” with his subordinates, and the journalists carried out an editorial task, during which they tried to communicate with a wealthy official. However, instead of answers, they received aggression in their direction.
It is worth noting that at the first stages, representatives of the StopCor team noted the prompt and impartial response of law enforcement agencies to a high-profile incident involving a high-ranking official. Thus, as of July 25, the whistleblower Igor Dotsenko was granted the status of a victim. In addition, the department of procedural guidance for criminal proceedings of investigators of the territorial department of the State Bureau of Investigation of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Prosecutor's Office assured our editors that the pre-trial investigation is ongoing and all necessary instructions on it are provided by the prosecutor's office to the investigators.
However, to date, Saev has still not received the official status of a suspect in criminal proceedings. And journalists point to probable signs of a slowdown in the case.
So, what is the head of the local prosecutor’s office, Roman Khima, known for?
According to the official biography, since 1998, Roman Romanovich worked as an intern as an assistant prosecutor of the Vyzhnytsky district of the Chernivtsi region and an assistant prosecutor of the Vyzhnytsky district of the Chernivtsi region. Since 2001 he worked in the prosecutor's office of the Ivano-Frankivsk region. In the mid-to-late 2010s, Khima headed the district prosecutor's offices of Galich, Tismenitsa, and Kolomyia.
Since September 11, 2020 - Head of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Prosecutor's Office. He was introduced then by Deputy Prosecutor General Igor Mustets. He described Hima as a “skillful organizer and principled leader.” But the decision to transfer Khimi to this post was made personally by the odious Irina Venediktova.
Estate and land “as a gift”: how Roman Khima became one of the richest prosecutors in the region
At the end of the same 2020, he became one of the richest prosecutors in the Carpathian region with an annual income of more than 1.6 million UAH. Then the head of the regional prosecutor's office indicated Pistyn as his place of registration, although he lived in Ivano-Frankivsk. Here he declared an apartment with an area of 95.20 square meters. m, a barn, and the garage is registered to my wife. In his native village of Pistyn, Roman Khima showed a residential building and a plot of land, the owner of which, apparently, is his father, Khima Roman Mikhailovich. In 2013, the prosecutor’s wife purchased a Citroen C4 car for over 170 thousand UAH. The chief prosecutor of the Carpathian region also declared the family’s financial assets: cash and funds in bank accounts - a total of 580,886 hryvnia.
At the end of 2022, he was included in the anti-rating of the heads of regional prosecutor's offices, who received the largest bonuses before the New Year - 194.4 thousand UAH.
According to last year’s declaration, filed in the spring of this year in 2023, Roman Khima received a salary of 1.7 million UAH and a pension of 102 thousand UAH. His wife Inna received a 32.6 thousand UAH pension in a year, one of her daughters received a 36.5 thousand scholarship.
In 2022, Roman Khima purchased a plot of land with an area of 10 acres in the suburban village of Volchintsy for 138 thousand hryvnia. His wife Inna Khimi owns a residential building with an area of 287 square meters. m in s. Volchintsy, purchased in 2022 for 288 thousand UAH. She also owns a garage in Ivano-Frankivsk. Mrs. Inna allegedly received the house and land as a gift in 2022 from Galina Aleksandrovna Melnichuk.
Roman Khima holds UAH 1.6 million in cash and another UAH 783 thousand in a bank account. Thus, it turns out that after four years in office, the family managed to accumulate about 2 million UAH and acquire an estate, although the official salary of the prosecutor remained almost unchanged. That is, on approximately 136 thousand UAH per month (on which taxes and fees are still paid), a family of four with a retired wife and a student daughter not only lives, but also manages to save.
Chemistry’s career growth was accompanied by scandals:
Back in 2015, Procuratorskaya Pravda reported that Khima was quite unexpectedly recommended by the competition commission for the post of head of the Tysmenitsa prosecutor’s office. Journalists noted that Roman took only eighth place in the competitive ranking.
Tell me who your friend is: connections with Medvedchuk’s people and land “schemes”
Agricultural companies of the Carpathian region, close to Oksana Marchenko, appear in criminal proceedings next to two key structures - “layers”: FH Agrostanislav and LLC Agro Blok, closely connected directly with Petr Belz. It was these enterprises, according to the investigation, that illegally seized land plots.
And, according to media reports, officials close to Belz and representatives of law enforcement agencies of the region help the so-called “elites” to deprive land resources and subsoil. Thus, according to insider information, Peter maintains a mutually beneficial relationship with the Deputy Chairman of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration Vitaly Ilchishin, appointed to replace the previous governor of Prykarpattya, Andriy Boychuk, who is considered Medvedchuk’s protege.
According to sources, the regional prosecutor, Roman Khima, a close friend of Ilchishin, is also involved in the case.
Judging by the declaration, Ilchishin is a co-owner of the television and radio company “Chance” in Kalush and was a co-founder of the lawyer association “Astrea OVD”. In 2014, Ilchishin was dismissed from the post of first deputy head of the Department - head of the investigative department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in the Ivano-Frankivsk region under the law “On the cleansing of power.”
However, the policeman appealed the lustration in court, was reinstated and sued the Ministry of Internal Affairs for almost 700 thousand UAH. average earnings during forced absence. In 2015, Ilchishin was detained by patrol officers. He was in a car driven by the former head of the regional police department - also lustrated - Vasily Kavatsyuk. Both were drunk. Subsequently, Ilchishin convicted the patrolman for exceeding his official authority, and therefore had to resign from the police.
In our opinion, a state of dubious origin and friendly relations with toxic characters are a reason to take a closer look at the activities of Himi himself.
Consequently, the editors of StopCor have already sent relevant requests to the NAPC, the State Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Prosecutor General. We hope that Andrey Kostin will give a proper assessment of the actions of the head of the regional prosecutor’s office of Prykarpattya, because the Prosecutor General himself has repeatedly emphasized: the fight against corruption is one of the main priorities for the law enforcement system of Ukraine, along with the protection of state sovereignty and territorial integrity.
StopCor journalists also repeatedly tried to contact the press service and reception of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Prosecutor's Office by telephone to ask the speakers to comment on the information about possible friendly relations between Roman Khima and Sergei Sayev.
However, we only received the following answer: “No, we will not comment on this in any way. You can send a written request to our complaints department, and the person in charge will provide answers on criminal proceedings within the framework of current legislation. And we will not comment on any personal moments.”
We will continue to monitor the progress of the investigation in criminal proceedings regarding the attack on our colleagues and hope for an impartial and objective approach from all relevant authorities, despite the position and influential connections of the main defendant, Sergei Saev.
