The rector of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Vladimir Bugrov, who was recently cited for inflated prices on food purchases for his students, became the owner of an apartment in an elite new building in the capital, for which, it seems, there was no money.
"Investigation.Info" received an agreement to purchase an apartment and also analyzed its declarations. The rector himself insists that he had enough funds and accused the journalist of interfering in his personal life.
The expert sees Burgov’s actions as a declaration of false information.
The newly built White Lines residential complex is located in a picturesque location of the capital - right at the entrance to Goloseevsky Park and next to the metro. The developers promise a whole hectare of park on the roof of the houses, as well as a fitness club with a swimming pool. This business-class complex is located behind the Dovzhenko Center, the destruction of which the film community has been protesting for several years. By the way, one of the reasons for its destruction was precisely the appetites of neighboring developers.
Last year, the rector of the Kyiv National University, Vladimir Bugrov, became the owner of an apartment in the partially completed White Lines complex. According to the register of rights to real estate, on December 21, 2023, he registered for himself a two-room apartment with an area of 74.7 square meters. m. Currently, such apartments cost more than 200 thousand dollars.
Journalists received contracts from which Bugrov registered real estate for himself.
As noted in the documents, the teacher purchased bonds, which after completion of construction he could exchange for square meters. The agreement was concluded in the fall of 2020.
Indeed, Bugrov’s 2020 declaration lists real estate bonds. Then he held the position of vice-rector for scientific and pedagogical work. Both the declaration and the documents received by the editors speak of 7,444 bonds worth 231 hryvnia each for a total of 1.7 million hryvnia. This is the face value of the bonds.
True, in the same document we read that the amount paid by Bugrov is almost 3.5 million hryvnia ($123,868 in 2020).
Bond purchase and sale agreement dated November 5, 2020
According to the terms of the agreement, Bugrov had to pay almost the entire amount within 9 days. Subsequently, in a comment to the journalist, the rector confirmed that he deposited the funds into the account on time.
Having analyzed Bugrov’s declarations, we can conclude that he did not have declared funds to purchase this property. In 2020, his family earned 1.3 million hryvnia. Between 2019 and 2020 (when the investment agreement was concluded), the savings of Bugrov and his family not only did not decrease, but, on the contrary, increased.
So, where the current rector got millions of hryvnia to buy bonds, which within a few years became an apartment in an elite residential complex, is unknown.
The journalist met with Vladimir Bugrov to find out where he got 3.5 million to buy an apartment. At first, the rector couldn’t remember how much he paid for the apartment, so the journalist showed him a copy of the investment agreement.
Journalist: Under this agreement, you are obliged to pay 122 thousand dollars by November 13, 2020. Where did you get 3.5 million hryvnia at that time?
Vladimir Bugrov: My declarations show all the income that I had during my entire work, and we saved this money to invest in construction.
Journalist: Your savings have not decreased if you compare 2019 and 2020, but they have only increased.
Vladimir Bugrov: The declaration for this year will indicate less.
Journalist: What year?
Vladimir Bugrov: For 2023.
Journalist: This is an agreement dated November 5, 2020, you declared ownership of 7444 bonds. Under this agreement, the payment deadline for bonds is November 13, 2020. Where does 3.5 million come from in 2020?
Vladimir Bugrov: I haven’t earned them since 2020. I've earned them before.
Journalist: So you spent your savings?
Vladimir Bugrov: Yes.
Journalist: If you compare your savings for 2019 and 2020, then your savings have only increased.
Vladimir Bugrov: I had income.
Journalist: So, you had this money, 3.5 million, you just didn’t reflect it in the declaration?
Vladimir Bugrov: I reflected everything in the declaration, there is no need to manipulate.
Bugrov refused to answer further questions, saying that he saw the journalist’s questions as interference in his personal life.
In addition to the fact that the rector could not explain where he got the money for an expensive apartment, journalists discovered that in the declarations for 2020-2022, Bugrov did not declare his right to an unfinished construction project, indicating only the available securities in the declaration. Bugrov also did not indicate real estate expenses in his 2020 declaration. That is, the amount he spent on the apartment.
According to Vadim Valko, a lawyer at the Anti-Corruption Center, this shows signs of a corruption offense.
“There is an explanation from the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NACP), which states that if the subject of the declaration has acquired the ownership of securities for an unfinished construction project, then both the object itself and the securities are indicated,” Valko noted.
He notes that here we may be talking about a violation of Part 1 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (declaration of false information). The minimum sanction of this article is a fine, the maximum is restriction of freedom for up to two years.
Let us remind you that on January 18, the publication “Our Money” published an investigation that Kiev National University purchases products for its students at inflated prices. The educational institution stated that they did not buy expensive products, but discovered a technical error. Later, on January 23, a petition appeared on the website of the Office of the President calling for the termination of the contract with Vladimir Bugrov due to “corruption and immoral behavior.”
