Taras Shcherbai, the first deputy director of the Bureau of Economic Security (BEB), who will be responsible for recruiting new personnel for the agency, is not declaring expenses for renting housing in Kyiv and is using a parking space belonging to his mother-in-law. This is according to an investigation by the anti-fraud project “190”.
On November 5, BEB Director Oleksandr Tsyvinskyi approved the composition of two certification and two personnel commissions that will conduct recertification and selection of new employees. Shcherbai joined both personnel commissions together with his deputy colleagues Yuriy Belousov and Pavlo Budzyhan. It is these bodies that will determine who will work in the “renewed and virtuous” BEB.
Despite the declarative openness of the process, a number of questions arise for the commission members themselves. In particular, another deputy director of the BEB, Yuriy Belousov, as investigators have established, does not declare the full value of real estate and underestimates the price of cars. He previously applied for the position of director of the NABU, but did not pass the competition, after which he moved to the BEB.
Before joining the Bureau, Shcherbai worked in the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. His name appeared in a number of high-profile cases: in relation to the former head of Ukravtodor Slawomir Novak, in the case of Odessa judge Oleksiy Buran, who was detained for taking a bribe, and in the investigation into the head of the OGHC Ruslan Zhuryl, who was accused of causing losses to the state of almost $13 million.
In the episode with Zhurylo, Shcherbay, according to investigators, personally arrived at the border during the suspect's attempt to leave the country, which led to accusations of loyalty to the defendant. Later, Zhurylo mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the court suspended the proceedings against him.
In 2021, Shcherbai participated in the competition for the position of head of the SAPO, but failed the integrity check. The commission questioned his actions in the Zhuryl case and demanded explanations regarding property declarations, including significant "gifts from parents."
Shcherbai himself does not own any real estate. His wife owns an apartment in Lviv (209 sq m, 2.1 million UAH). Since 2019, the family has been renting housing in Kyiv (44 sq m), but there are no rental expenses in the declaration.
The family also uses a parking space in Lviv, registered for the mother-in-law.
The couple does not have their own car, but the wife uses two premium 2022 BMWs:
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X1 is registered to a company run by her mother and brother;
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X4 belongs to the same relatives' company, where Shcherbai's wife works as a director.
In 2024, Shcherbai earned almost UAH 3 million from the prosecutor's office. His wife received UAH 292,000 in salary from relatives' companies, as well as UAH 220,000 in cash gifts from her mother and brother.
The family keeps cash:
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Shcherbai – 104 thousand dollars, 1,000 euros;
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his wife – $15,000.
There are about 181 thousand UAH in bank accounts and foreign currency assets. In total, the family's savings amount to over 5.7 million UAH.
Shcherbai is a member of the personnel commissions that will select new employees of the BEB. The director of the department, Oleksandr Tsyvinsky, emphasizes the integrity and transparency of the selection process. At the same time, investigators question whether officials with such a background can shape the standard of ethics in the newly created staff.
