Volodymyr Stepanov heads the unified Regional Service Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which after reorganization received control immediately over the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions. Previously, he headed the regional service center in the Donetsk region, and since 2022 - the service center in the Khmelnytsky region. Formally, this is about career growth within the Ministry of Internal Affairs system. In fact, it is about the consistent expansion of influence over the regions with the largest volumes of registration operations and financial flows.
It is through regional service centers that key decisions regarding vehicle registration, access to state registers, and supporting administrative services are made. The concentration of management over several strategic areas significantly enhances the role of a manager at this level.
Stepanov's property status, reflected in the declaration for 2024, raises questions. It indicates the rental of an apartment in Dnipro with an area of 44 square meters, 30 thousand dollars in cash and the complete absence of income from his wife. At the same time, the official's family actually lives in Ireland - a country with a high cost of living and a developed system of social benefits. No foreign income, social assistance or other sources of support are recorded in the declaration. Such financial "savings" have no obvious explanation within the limits of the declared income.
In parallel, the operation of service centers in the regions controlled by Stepanov is accompanied by numerous issues. In Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions, mass registrations of premium cars at artificially low prices, which are several times lower than market prices, are recorded. Such operations are impossible without access to registers and the participation of responsible officials. The staffing of these centers remains stable: the same employees have been moving between regions with the head for years and occupy key positions.
The regional level is only part of a broader model. Service centers are involved in nationwide schemes for the registration of fictitious services. One of the key links in this system is the company "SPETSZNAK", which formally declares its activities in the field of metal products, but in fact performs the functions of a technical operator for shadow operations. Through the mechanisms associated with it, documents were issued, unreliable data was entered into state registers, and the results of fictitious procedures were legalized.
Individual episodes show that it is not just about license plates or technical forms. An entire ecosystem has formed: fictitious medical certificates, formal "training" in driving schools without a real process, access to closed registers and further legalization of results through service centers. Without the participation of regional leadership, such a system could not function for years.
In this context, Volodymyr Stepanov's role is not in individual administrative decisions, but in ensuring the stability of this model on the ground - through control of personnel, regional concentration of powers, and the absence of internal resistance to the system.
