Yevheniy Kalugin, the head of the Bureau of Economic Security in the Transcarpathian region, who until recently worked in the prosecutor's office and the State Bureau of Investigation, and his wife declared over 18 million hryvnias in property and savings. However, some of his wealth raises questions - both regarding undervalued real estate and missing corporate rights and business connections.
This is reported by “Absolution Leaks”.
Real estate and land worth millions
In his 2024 tax return, Kalugin stated that he owned shares in two apartments in Dnipro. However, he did not specify their value. His wife Alina purchased a house in Uzhgorod with an area of 640 m² in 2024 for 398 thousand hryvnias, which, according to market estimates, is several times lower than the real value. The land under the house was valued at 256 thousand.
She also became a co-owner of a large plot of land in the village of Ostrytsia (Chernivtsi region) with an area of over 1.7 hectares, which was purchased for over UAH 2.2 million. The other co-owners are her partners from the Golden Black Spa company, which may indicate hidden commercial activity.
Despite this, the family rents another house and two land plots in Uzhhorod - the rent amount is not specified in the declaration. Another house in Pidhorodne with an area of almost 300 m² was estimated at only 300 thousand - and this again raises suspicions of undervaluation.
Formally, Kalugin does not have his own car. At the same time, he uses a 2019 BMW X5, which his wife purchased in 2023 for 3.5 million UAH. This vehicle is missing from the declaration.
In early 2024, the family purchased another luxury SUV — a 2020 BMW X7 for UAH 2.7 million. A few months later, the car was sold again. Before that, only one car, belonging to the wife, appeared in the declarations.
Family income: millions from business and mysterious sales
Yevheniy Kalugin's official salary in 2024 was 845 thousand hryvnias. His wife earned almost 5.5 million from entrepreneurial activities and another 2 million from the sale of "movable property", about which nothing is known. She also received 3 thousand hryvnias in social assistance.
In the accounts, the family declares $354,000 in cash from his wife, another UAH 2 million in bank accounts. The official himself has $34,000 and UAH 97,000. The total amount of savings is over UAH 18 million. At the same time, there is no mention of accounts at Bank of America, where, according to journalists, the family also keeps money, in the declaration.
It is especially interesting that the couple's sons have US citizenship. And Alina Kalugina herself is not only an entrepreneur, but also a co-founder of the NGO "Woman in Progress" and the "Life Will Win" Foundation, which is run by... her husband.
Moreover, in previous declarations, the wife had corporate rights, but in the 2024 report they mysteriously disappeared.
Kalugin's career path is a typical example for a systemic official: the prosecutor's office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Bureau of Investigation, and from 2023 - the BEB. Already in August of the same year, he was appointed head of the department in Transcarpathia.
However, his declaration and his family's lifestyle are more similar to that of a top businessman than a civil servant. Given the discrepancies, it is not ruled out that law enforcement agencies may become interested in this story.
