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Ukrainian customs management, other officials sacked amid wave of security raids

byKate Ryabchiy
01/02/2023
2 minute read
Ukrainian customs management, other officials sacked amid wave of security raids

Davyd Arakhamiia, head of faction of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s party Servant of the People, has announced the spring dismissal of the entire State Customs Service management team and the imprisonment of corrupted employees.

“I will notify the public of the announced spring imprisonments,” stated Arakhamia on his Telegram channel.

“Today:

  • searches in the Tax Service;
  • serving notices of suspicion to high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Defence;
  • searches at Kolomoiskyi-owned Ukrnafta; a whole series of covert investigative actions;
  • searches at Avakov’s place; searches at Stolar’s place [Vadym Stolar, i.e., a former Interior Minister of Ukraine];
  • dismissal of the entire State Customs management team.

During the war, the country will change. If someone is not ready for change, the state will come in and assist them,” wrote Arakhamia.

Today, on 1 February, Ukrainian security forces and law enforcement officers executed a series of searches and served notices of suspicion to various officials.

In particular, Counterintelligence and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) investigators have uncovered new evidence of criminal activity by Viacheslav Bohuslaiev, the president of Motor Sich, who is already suspected of working for Russia. He has received a second notice of suspicion.

The Security Service of Ukraine and the Bureau of Economic Security searched the Dnipro residence of oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi.

As well, the Prosecutor General’s Office served notices of suspicion to:

  • Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, former Deputy Director of the Defense Ministry’s public procurement department,
  • Viacheslav Shapovalov, former Deputy Defence Minister;
  • and Volodymyr Tereshchenko, former Deputy Director of the state-owned company Promoboronexport

Former Interior Minister Arsen Avakov’s residence was raided by the Security Service of Ukraine and the State Bureau of Investigation.

On 1 February, the SBU also searched the residence of Vadym Stolar, a Kyiv real estate developer and member of the banned, Russian-backed Opposition Platform – For Life party.

Additionally, the State Bureau of Investigation conducted searches of the tax authorities in Kyiv on 1 February.

Furthermore, by the Cabinet of Ministers’ decision, several officials have been dismissed:

  • Viacheslav Demchenko has been removed from his position as acting head of the State Customs Service.
  • Yuriy Sotnyk was removed from his position as First Deputy Director of the State Forestry Agency.
  • Oleksandr Shchutskyi has resigned as the First Deputy Head of the State Customs Service.
  • Andriy Lordkipanidze has been dismissed from the position of Deputy Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection
  • Ruslan Cherkaskyi, the Deputy Chief of the State Customs Service, has been placed on administrative leave pending a disciplinary investigation.

String of anti-corruption measures

Today’s searches and dismissals follow a string of resignations on 25 January in the wake of corruption scandals. Then, deputy Defense Minister Viacheslav Shapovalov resigned following accusations of inflated food procurement prices in the army.

As well, Ukraine’s deputy infrastructure minister, Vasyl Lozynskyi, was dismissed from his post for allegedly stealing $400,000 allocated for purchasing aid, including generators.

Top Ukrainian officials resign in anti-corruption drive

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