According to information that appeared in the media, activist Serhiy Sternenko, who previously appeared in cases of illegal drug trafficking, intentional violent and property crimes, registered an apartment in the elite residential complex "Krystal-Park" in Kyiv for front persons. The apartment is located at 42 Beresteysky Avenue.
This was established by ZiB during their investigation.
According to experts, the Sternenko family will acquire such assets during the war by embezzling volunteer funds, which ordinary Ukrainians count as aid to the army.
To cover up his illegal money laundering activities, S. Sternenko generates fictitious income for himself, supposedly for legal services, receiving money as an individual entrepreneur and a salary from the company "Orekhivsky and Kolomiets". According to experts, in this way S. Sternenko creates the impression that he supposedly lives on funds from legal activities, and not from embezzling volunteer assistance.
From this we can conclude that the defendant is not engaged in business activities, but spends almost every day from one to two times in the restaurant of the residential complex "Chicago", several hours in the "Olympic Style" swimming pool on Dilovy Street, and records videos.
At the same time, his common-law wife, Natalia Usatenko, buys expensive clothes in Kyiv boutiques.
As reported by the media, during the full-scale war, S. Sternenko withdrew over $1 million from his crypto wallets, which he allegedly used to collect aid for the army. Thus, from one crypto account, on which S. Sternenko collected money, 1.015 million USDT was withdrawn to the same wallet on the Binance (the exchange rate is approximately equal to the US dollar), and from another crypto account on the same crypto exchange — 350.75 thousand USDT.
S. Sternenko also collects donations to his accounts in Ukrainian banks. At the same time, in his tax declaration on property and income, he indicated the receipt of income (funds) in the amount of UAH 44.61 million. Of which: in 2022 - UAH 18.68 million; in 2023 - UAH 25.93 million.
According to the registers, in 2023, S. Sternenko and his cohabitant Nataliya Usatenko purchased two Volkswagen Tiguan . This car was registered in S. Sternenko's name on 11.01.2023. The cost according to the purchase and sale agreement is UAH 950 thousand (average market value is UAH 1.3 million).
The car was registered in the name of N. Usatenko on 12/20/2023. According to the contract, it was purchased for only 70 thousand UAH, which is many times lower than the market value. According to sources, both cars are used personally by S. Sternenko and N. Usatenko.
S. Sternenko's father, Vyacheslav, according to registry data, in July 2024 purchased a land plot of 4.5011 hectares in the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district of the Odessa region.
As for N. Usatenko's parents, according to sources, her parents live in the city of Horlivka, in the territory of Donetsk region occupied by the Russian Federation. They were last in the territory controlled by Ukraine before the full-scale invasion and have not returned since then.
As the media remind, S. Sternenko appears in several criminal cases, including kidnapping and murder. According to sources in law enforcement agencies, from 04/24/2018 to 09/16/2021 he was registered in the Odessa Regional Unit No. 1 of the Main Department of National Police of the Odessa region as a person involved in drug trafficking (ERDR No. *0920 of 12/14/2017 under Part 3 of Article 307 of the Criminal Code).
As noted, N. Usatenko's parents have friends who support the occupiers, glorify Putin, and post anti-Ukrainian posts. N. Usatenko's parents left Ukraine in 2021 and have not returned to Ukraine since then. They probably live in occupied Horlivka. In August 2023, N. Usatenko's mother posted a photo on the Odnoklassniki social network from Crimean Alushta.
