The recent scandal with the identification of unsubstantiated assets worth UAH 3.9 million of the head of the department for combating drug crime of the Main Directorate of the National Police (GUNP) of Kiev, Alexander Dybov, indicates that the police system has not been cleaned up in its time and needs to be rebooted.
After all, there are quite a few police leaders who hide their assets, notes Martyna Boguslavets, executive director of the anti-corruption center IZI. For example, the same thing is the State Administration for Police of the city of Kyiv. A similar unit to the Department for Combating Drug Crime. Only this time we are talking about the gun control department.
Against the backdrop of discussions about the bill on weapons and the powers of the police in this area, we analyzed the police leaders who ensure control over the circulation of weapons, and found those to whom the NAPC could pay attention and conduct full monitoring of declarations.
The condition of the main “gunsmith” of Kyiv
An apartment in Kyiv costs 15 thousand UAH, a Volkswagen Touareg car costs 3 thousand UAH. And it's not about rent. For this kind of money, the family of a policeman, head of the weapons control department of the State Administration for Police of the city of Kyiv, Yuri Nerukh, buys real estate and movable property.
Yuri Nerukh has been working in law enforcement for more than 20 years. However, things went best for him in 2022, a year after his appointment as head of the weapons control department of the Kyiv police. This is evidenced by the law enforcement officer’s declaration.
So, in 2022, the wife of a policeman, Zhanna Nerukh, who had no official income, was given an apartment in Kyiv with an area of 94.8 square meters. m with, obviously, a hundreds of times lower price - only 15 thousand hryvnia, as well as a 2016 Volkswagen Touareg for 3 thousand hryvnia. The market value of such a car is more than 20 thousand dollars - 250 times more expensive than what the Nehrukh family bought.
How does the policeman’s family manage to make such lucrative deals with property prices hundreds of times lower than market prices? Is there a connection between purchases and the position of the chief police officer “gunsmith” in Kyiv?
So, Yuriy Nerukh loves real estate: at the end of 2022, he and his family declared 5 land plots in the Cherkasy and Kyiv regions, 4 apartments in Kiev, a house in the Cherkasy region, as well as movable property - a car for 3 thousand hryvnia and 450 thousand hryvnia in cash.
And this is all for the salary of a policeman, because, as the declarations show, other family members have had no income since 2016.
What's wrong with the declarations?
In 2018, the Nehrukh family has an income of 136 thousand hryvnia and no savings. At the same time, his daughter buys a 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe for 49 thousand hryvnia, but her father does not declare the car. The market price of such a car started at 12 thousand dollars.
Declaring cars at 49 thousand hryvnia at that time was an old scheme that allowed officials to avoid questions about income, as well as pay in cash for purchases up to 50 thousand hryvnia.
The first savings, according to the declaration, appeared in Yuriy Nerukh in 2019 - 70 thousand hryvnia in cash with a salary of 206 thousand hryvnia. In subsequent years, the family of a policeman has more cash: in 2020 - 145 thousand hryvnia, in 2021 - 250 thousand hryvnia and, most interestingly, in 2022 - 450,000.
So, in 2022, by the “bewitchment” of Kiev, with an income of 935 thousand hryvnia, he was able to buy an apartment that costs from 3 million hryvnia on the secondary market, a car, which at prices on car sites starts from 750 thousand hryvnia, pay off a 200 thousand hryvnia loan and also increase cash savings by 200 thousand hryvnia.
The fact that there is “something wrong” in the declaration is demonstrated by simple mathematics: 935,000 – 200,000 (loan) – 200,000 (savings) = 535,000. These funds would not be enough even to purchase the Volkswagen Touareg specified in the declaration , not taking into account an apartment of almost 100 square meters and family living expenses.
What schemes are used to avoid falling under NACP monitoring?
Often, officials have two options for declaring property that is more expensive than official income. The first is when the cost of an apartment or car is “unknown” or “a family member did not provide information.” However, for “fresh” declarations this option is very risky, since it increases the likelihood of a complete verification of the NACP declaration.
The second is understating the value of property. Since it is not logical to show in the declarations that the cost of the acquired property exceeds the official family income by several times, the prices of such purchases are significantly underestimated.
Indeed, in the case of declaring property that is greater in value than income, the NACP may have questions about the presence of unsubstantiated assets. In particular, as with Nerukh’s colleague at the Kyiv State Police Department, head of the department for combating drug crime, Alexander Dybov, who was found to have 3.9 million UAH of unsubstantiated assets.
Thus, an analysis of the declarations of the head of the weapons control department of the GUNP of the city of Kyiv, Yuri Nerukh, demonstrates that the savings and total official income of the policeman and his family can be significantly lower than the real value of the acquired assets.
National Pol Reform is long overdue
Only a complete reboot of the authority, with several stages of filtration, can stop the practice of systemic corruption schemes in the police.
In 2024, according to the DAP, a bill on selection for leadership positions in the police based on the results of an independent competition should be adopted.
This is also a requirement of international experts. In particular, a transparent personnel selection system is among the priority reforms from the White House letter.
Now we are seeing delays in the development of the bill, which should contain three key steps.
First. Competition for the position of head of the National Police and his deputies. The competition commission for selecting the leadership of the National Police should include representatives of international organizations (with predominant voting rights) and Ukrainian experts. Otherwise, there is a risk of holding a formal competition. Moreover, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Police are responsible for the new bill on competition for the police. So to speak, police reform through the hands of the police themselves.
Second. Competitions in the regions. The introduction of a competitive procedure for senior positions in territorial divisions, following the example of selecting the leadership of the National Police, will make it possible to stop the rotation of the heads of the GUNP from region to region.
Third. Integrity check with a detailed analysis of declarations, property value, lifestyle of the law enforcement officer and his family. After all, the two above-mentioned examples indicate that not everyone will pass the integrity test.
In the meantime, without real steps towards reforming the National Pol, we will have “Tishleks” with Russian citizenship of their wives, generals “Shchadila” with estates and access to water, “Ishchenko” with rich mothers-in-law.
