The territorial administration of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) initiated criminal proceedings against Lviv customs officer Andrii Basarab. He is suspected of illegal enrichment and declaration of false information. As part of the investigation, the court seized the large Saltzbork hotel complex, located in the Lviv region, which is co-owned by the suspect's wife.
As it became known from the case materials and decisions published in the court register, the SBI instituted criminal proceedings under part. 1 Art. 366-2 and Art. 368-5 of the Civil Code as early as May 2024. Law enforcement officers believe that the chief inspector of the Lviv Customs Andriy Basarab entered false data into the declaration for 2023, and also acquired significant unsubstantiated assets that exceed legal income. As stated in the case file, the customs officer involved close relatives and a trusted person in the scheme.
In particular, the court rulings indicate that the parents of the customs officer are the owners of 25 plots of land, several real estate objects (shops, office premises, car service, cafe-bar), three residential buildings (164.6 m2, 141.2 m2, 234, 3 m2) and a Toyota Land Cruiser 120 (2008). The parents of the customs officer's wife have two plots of land, an apartment (40.4 m2), a shop-bar (231.4 m2), a non-residential premises (134 m2), two houses (87.8 m2, 259.8 m2) and a car: Volkswagen Passat (2020), Škoda Octavia (2018). Another 30 land plots and various real estate objects are owned by the customs officer's wife and trustee.
It is not known whether the real estate objects specified by the law enforcement officers are illegally acquired, as the investigation is ongoing. In October 2024, the court gave investigators access to documents, in particular to data on the sources of income (from 1991 to 2023) of the customs officer, his relatives and several other persons.
In January 2025, the Lychakiv District Court of Lviv imposed an arrest (prohibition of alienation) on the Saltzbork hotel complex, located in the village of Stara Sil near Stary Sambor in the Lviv region. It belongs to the customs officer's wife and his confidant. The website of the hotel complex states that there are more than 20 cottages, a hotel, a lake, gazebos, a swimming pool, a spa, billiards, bowling, a cafe and other entertainment on the territory.
The law enforcement officers established that after the opening of criminal cases, during October-November 2024, 19 plots of land and real estate objects located on them and included in the hotel complex were re-registered to the company "Eko-Sambir". According to the data of the business search system YouControl, the owner of the company is Lyubov Basarab, the wife of a customs officer.
"The above indicates that he and his wife, knowing for sure that in case he is found guilty of committing a crime of corruption, the property obtained by criminal means is subject to special confiscation, which became the basis for the re-registration of the above-mentioned property to "Eko-Sambir" LLC ", stated in the court decision.
The property owners and their lawyers filed an objection to the seizure. In particular, they claimed that Lyubov Basarab is engaged in entrepreneurial activities and her income is legal, as well as that the specified areas were reflected in the declaration.
Indeed, in the declaration of the customs official Andrii Basarab on the website of the NAZK, a number of real estate objects in the village of Stara Sil, the owner of which is his wife Lyubov Basarab, are indicated. In terms of area, the declared objects are identical to those specified in the court decision.
The investigating judge granted the request of the prosecutor and imposed an arrest on the Saltzbork hotel complex by means of a restraining order (expropriation). The seized property belongs to "Eko-Sambir" LLC, the customs officer's wife and a person whom the law enforcement officers consider to be the customs officer's confidant. This decision can still be appealed.
