Transcarpathian customs inspector Vasyl Pupena, who officially receives a little more than 24 thousand hryvnias in salary and about 3 thousand hryvnias in disability pension, lives in an estate worth about 40 million hryvnias and uses expensive cars.
This is stated in the material of Telegraf journalists, who investigated the customs officer's declarations and his family's property.
Vasyl Pupena works as a state inspector in the customs clearance department No. 8 of the Tysa customs post — this is one of the lowest positions in the customs structure. At the same time, it is the inspectors who control the passage of goods across the border, check the correctness of declarations, and calculate customs payments.
According to the declaration, Pupena's official salary after taxes is approximately 24.8 thousand hryvnias per month. He also received about 3 thousand hryvnias in pension.
At the same time, at the age of 29, after the start of a full-scale war, the customs officer registered a third-group disability due to a “general illness.” In addition to pension payments, this status gives the right to exemption from mobilization and the opportunity to travel abroad.
In December 2024, the Central MSEC canceled his disability. Doctors examined the documents in absentia and concluded that he was not a person with a disability. However, Pupena appealed this decision in court. Judge Pavlo Mykulyak of the Transcarpathian District Administrative Court granted his claim and canceled the decision of the Central MSEC.
The family's luxurious lifestyle came to light after posts on social media by the customs officer's wife, Victoria Pupena. On Instagram, she showed off expensive jewelry, designer clothes, travels, and other attributes of a wealthy life.
Victoria Pupena worked as an assistant at the Department of English Language and Literature at Mukachevo State University, and has been on parental leave since June 2024. She also has an individual entrepreneur in the second group of the single tax.
However, the family's main expenses are not related to clothes or accessories, but to real estate and cars.
According to the declaration, Pupena has owned a house with an area of 297.3 sq. m in Uzhhorod and a land plot since 2019. At the same time, the cost of the house at the time of purchase was declared at only 50 thousand hryvnias.
Later, the house was re-registered in the name of the customs officer's parents. In particular, in September 2025, his mother, Wanda Pupena, registered part of the property under a gift agreement.
In addition, the family owns expensive cars. In 2024, the customs officer's mother purchased a 2024 BMW X7, which costs about $115,000.
In 2025, she registered another car for herself - a 2025 Mercedes-Benz V-Class V300, the market value of which is approximately $155,000.
The customs officer's wife owns a 2024 Skoda Kodiaq, which costs about 1.9 million hryvnias. This car has license plates with the combination of numbers "0001", the same numbers as her mother's cars.
The customs officer's father also purchased a 2025 Skoda Octavia with the license plate "4444".
In addition to part of the house, Pupena's mother also owns a building with an area of 328.8 sq. m, purchased in 2023. The total value of the family's property is estimated at tens of millions of hryvnias.
The family explained the origin of the funds as loans. According to the customs officer's mother, over the past 18 years she has received income of approximately 23 million hryvnias, engaging in commercial activities without registering a business.
In addition, she stated that she borrowed almost $470,000 from five different individuals.
However, the inspection showed that the so-called creditors did not have sufficient official income to lend such amounts. In addition, they all live in Odessa, while the customs officer's family lives in Uzhhorod.
There is also no confirmation that these debts are being repaid or that financial transfers have taken place between the parties.
As part of the criminal proceedings, the State Bureau of Investigation asked the court to seize the property of the customs officer's family to prevent its possible alienation.
However, Judge Anna Gridasova of the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv refused this request, and the property was not seized.
