Today we will reveal interesting details about how some people's deputies of Ukraine hide their wealth, using an old but effective scheme - divorce.
After making fabulous fortunes during the war, some of them found a new way to protect their fortunes from audits and government scrutiny - through divorce. How exactly does this happen and which of the scandalous politicians hides their wealth behind the "skirts" of their ex-wives?
Journalists of NENKA INFO conducted their own investigation. And that's what we managed to find out.
Mykola Tyshchenko: divorce is not without benefits
Mykola Tyshchenko, one of the most scandalous Ukrainian politicians, divorced his wife Alla Baranovska at the beginning of 2023. Shortly after that, more than 12 million hryvnias appeared in his declaration as a "gift" from his ex-wife. This situation raised suspicions, since the origin of these funds remained unclear. After that, Tyshchenko was detained for an attack by his bodyguard on a serviceman, which drew even more attention to his activities. Note that this "gift" was a great opportunity to avoid further questions about the origin of the funds.
Stepan Ivakhiv: the "king of real estate" without his own home
We cannot help but mention Stepan Ivakhiv. Ukrainian entrepreneur, deputy of the "For the Future" party, co-owner of the WOG gas station network. It is noteworthy that in 2021, Ivahiv entered the ranking of the richest Ukrainians, occupying the 58th place. At that time, his fortune was estimated at 180 million dollars. However, his declaration caused concern at the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NACP), as it was deemed risky, meaning that it might not reflect all income or assets.
After the start of the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, Ivakhiv tried to flee the country, taking 310 thousand dollars with him. This attempt failed, and soon after that the MP divorced his wife.
According to the YouControl portal, after the divorce, his wealth decreased by 21%. However, the total value of his family's property is still estimated at 236 million hryvnias. Interestingly, Ivahiv did not declare any personal housing or car. All property, including many plots of land, luxury cars, country houses, jewelry and clothes of famous brands, now belongs to his ex-wife Svetlana.
Ivakhov's ex-wife owns four plots of land in the village of Lypyny, Volyn region, a residential house of 300 square meters, a country house of the same size, a garden house of more than 200 square meters in the village of Pulmo, an outbuilding of 650 square meters, an apartment in Kyiv of 200 square meters meters and another on 146 square meters. The former also has an apartment of 450 square meters, which is under construction, as well as an apartment in Lypyny of 876 square meters, which is jointly owned with other persons.
It is interesting that Ivakhiv, co-owner of the WOG gas station chain, did not specify a single car in his declaration, but declared only a trailer for 10,000 hryvnias. Svetlana's ex-wife, on the other hand, owns expensive cars, including a 2018 Porsche Cayenne and a 2009 Toyota FJ Cruiser. This raises suspicions about the real purpose of his divorce. Is this not an attempt to hide wealth? Declarations and reality: the property of the deputy and his family
Vadym Stolar: "impoverished" millionaire
Another example is Vadim Stolar. Gained popularity as a politician and businessman associated with the OPZZH. After the prohibition of OPZZ, he joined the deputy group "Restoration of Ukraine". However, his career was not without scandals: Stolar appears in journalistic investigations, where he is accused of corruption schemes together with the head of the OP Andriy Yermak.
His wealth for 2023 decreased by 98%, now amounting to only 5 million hryvnias. However, before the divorce with his wife Inna Maistruk, the Stolar family had a significant package of real estate and jewelry.
On Inna Maistruk, a house near Kyiv of more than 900 square meters, a house of 100 square meters, a garden house, a residential house of 2000 square meters in Kozyna, an outbuilding of 280 square meters, and about 10 plots of land near Kyiv, most of which were arranged worth millions of hryvnias. In addition, Maistruk rented an apartment in Monaco with an area of 600 square meters and a penthouse of 500 square meters in the United Arab Emirates.
Stolar also owns a collection of antiques, including antique furniture, paintings, wines and other luxury items. Despite this, in his declaration, he indicated that after the divorce, his property status significantly deteriorated.
Even more interesting is the fact that, according to the investigation, even despite the decrease in official wealth, Vadym Stolar continues to own significant sums abroad. In particular, he had more than 3 million dollars left on the island of Dominica, more than 2 million euros in Austria and 700 thousand dollars in Dubai. This suggests that the divorce may have been partly motivated not only by personal reasons, but also by financial strategy.
The conclusion remains the question: did these politicians and their ex-wives really separate due to personal issues, or was it a calculated move to protect assets? The answer remains open, but the facts speak for themselves. This way of avoiding responsibility is not new, but its scale is impressive.
It seems that some Ukrainian deputies are ready to resort to any tricks to preserve their wealth. Well, let's see how the situation will develop further.
