Former employee of the State Migration Service in the Odessa region Ivan Bezkischenko, who in 2019 was suspected by the State Bureau of Investigation of embezzlement of about UAH 1 million, indicated in his latest declaration an apartment in Odessa worth UAH 7 million. Together with a number of other real estate objects, cars, and significant cash savings, this raises questions about the transparency of the origin of the property and the progress of the investigation of the case.
In 2019, investigators from the State Bureau of Investigation reported suspicions to the head of the Odessa Regional State Migration Service, Olena Pogrebnyak, and her first deputy, Ivan Bezkyshchenko — they were accused of colluding with contractors and embezzling almost UAH 1 million during the renovation of the State Migration Service building. According to the investigation, false information was entered into the acts of work performed, as a result of which budget funds were transferred to the contractors. The suspects faced from two to 12 years in prison and possible confiscation or fines. However, the case actually "calmed down", and the officials remained in their positions: Pogrebnyak continues to head the Odessa Regional State Migration Service, and Bezkyshchenko resigned only in October 2024.
The anti-fraud project "190" and local publications analyzed the declarations of the former deputy and discovered a set of real estate, vehicles and savings that do not always correspond to official income. In particular: an apartment (28.7 sq. m) in Odessa, purchased in 2019, declared at a cost of 360 thousand UAH; another apartment (36.7 sq. m), which the couple has owned since 2006 (50% each), is estimated in the declaration at the amount of 7 UAH. The document also lists a land plot and a summer house in the village of Koshari, Odessa region, a large plot of land near Nerubaysky, a garage as an unfinished construction, and the wife has several plots in Khmelnytsky region.
Such declared values (for example, 7 UAH per apartment) look absurd against the background of market prices for Odessa real estate and raise questions about intentional undervaluation of property or non-obvious declaration of the real value.
The declaration lists several cars: a 1996 OPEL OMEGA (purchased in 2012), a 1988 VAZ 2108, and a 2005 TOYOTA RAV4 (purchased in 2017) — with the value of some cars clearly understated compared to market estimates. A garage (unfinished construction) and other movable property are also declared.
For the past year, the declaration indicated: UAH 756,000 in salary from the State Social Insurance Institution (at the time of work until October 2024), UAH 239,000 in pension, about UAH 9,000 in social payments and small income from rental. The spouses' cash savings were presented as joint property: UAH 300,000 and USD 10,000 in cash; bank accounts indicated more than USD 16,000, EUR 125,000 and UAH 125,000. In total, this is more than one and a half million UAH of savings in the family. Such a set of savings and at the same time "ridiculous" declaration estimates of individual objects look incompatible with the declared income and raise additional questions.
The declaration mentions that in April 2024, Bezkischenko became a co-owner of a large land plot near Nerubayske (45,952 sq. m), the other half of which belongs to a person named Vasyl Yurenko. According to open registers, a person with this name appears as a co-owner and director of LLC "Donetsk Specialized Department "Electromontazh"" (EDRPOU 36444296). According to the registers, the company was registered in Donetsk, and after 2014 had information about re-registration in Russian registers; individual references indicate that it was operating in the Russian Federation in 2022–2023. In light of the war realities and prohibitions on cooperation with collaborationist structures, such connections cause serious concern.
