StopKor team monitored the lifestyle of top officials in the regions and drew attention to the family fortune of the deputy head of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration, Mykola Paliychuk. Formally, he has neither a business nor significant assets, but his family owns a large array of real estate and vehicles, which looks disproportionate to the official's official income.
Paliychuk began his career as a mechanic, but gradually entered regional politics - he became a deputy of the regional council and headed the budget commission. Over the years of work, he had to change several political forces: "Our Ukraine", "UDAR", "UKROP", "For the Future". Despite individual statements about refusing a salary, at certain periods he received bonuses and allowances of up to 250% of his salary. In 2018 alone, he declared 409 thousand hryvnias from the regional council.
In parallel with his political career, the financial status of Paliychuk's family also grew. His children own apartments in elite areas of Ivano-Frankivsk. His wife Elvira Hrynishak declared at least ten different real estate properties: from a house with an area of over 370 square meters to shops, apartments, non-residential premises and land plots. She also has two Honda CR-V cars, 2012 and 2021, with a total value of over 1.6 million hryvnias. Paliychuk himself does not officially own a single car.
This is not the only peculiarity. Until recently, Paliychuk was married to Natalia Paliychuk, the mother of his three children. After the divorce, the declaration for 2020 already includes six children, two of whom have the last name of his new wife. The former wife of the official appeared in criminal proceedings regarding the cultivation of sleeping poppy, but escaped punishment due to her guilty plea. She also owned shares in companies that Paliychuk himself previously managed.
These include, in particular, Private Enterprise “Ruslana Company” and LLC “Ruslana”, registered in Vorokhta at the address where a company that provided tourist services in the Carpathians operated. Archived versions of the website carpathiantours.com confirm that a company that organized mountain tours and was engaged in the hotel business operated at this address. Both companies have no declared assets or tenders, but connections with the tourism sector are obvious.
Paliychuk also appears in other structures - TDV "Oblpalivo", NGO "Spilna Prasta", as well as the Ski Federation of Ivano-Frankivsk region, where he is currently listed as the head. The latter has no assets, but its activities may indicate the official's informal influence in the sports environment. The situation is complicated by the fact that in the YouControl database, Paliychuk's contact number coincides with the number of lawyer Storozhuk - a lawyer associated with the group of former People's Deputy Oleksandr Shevchenko and the business of the Bukovel resort.
Additional questions arise over the purchases of the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Council. In recent years, it has purchased dozens of expensive wristwatches, as well as gift sets and books worth hundreds of thousands of hryvnias. The responsible commissions, coordinated by Paliychuk, approved such expenses, which looks like a classic misuse of budget funds.
No less revealing is the story of the financing of the UKROP party. Paliychuk transferred funds to the party account while having tax debt, which is a direct violation of the law. The court closed the proceedings due to the statute of limitations, but the fact of the violation was established.
Despite numerous questions about his family's wealth, involvement in business structures, and questionable political stories, Mykola Paliychuk continues to hold a high position in the region. The lifestyle of his entourage, significant assets, and lack of an official business create a picture that requires detailed study by anti-corruption agencies.
