The chief of police of the Zhytomyr region, Oleksandr Kovtun, received an official apartment in Kyiv, understates the value of his property, and at the same time declares significant family savings, and his wife recently purchased a new expensive car. The official's declaration and data from open registers demonstrate a significant discrepancy between the family's official income and their real value of assets.
In February 2024, when Kovtun was still working as the head of the National Police’s Investigation Department, he received official housing from the department — a spacious 89.4 square meter apartment in the capital. The approximate market value of such housing is almost three million hryvnias. Kovtun himself, his wife Lyudmila, and their son Artem are registered in the apartment.
The second son, Denis Kovtun, is also registered in this capital residence. Last year, he lived in the dormitory of the National Academy of Internal Affairs in Vita-Poshtova, where he is studying in his second year for free as a cadet of a state institution.
After being appointed chief of police of the Zhytomyr region in November 2024, Kovtun began renting a separate apartment with an area of 58.9 square meters in Oliivka, near Zhytomyr. The landlord is local businessman Dmytro Gerasymchuk, who is associated with a number of businesses in the region - from the production of military equipment to the trade in building materials and the activities of the public organization "Polissya Protection Corps".
Kovtun's declaration also contains useful information about movable property. Back in 2020, he purchased a 2017 Hyundai Avante for 210 thousand hryvnias, although the market value of a similar model is now at least 400 thousand. His wife last year became the owner of a 2021 Toyota RAV-4 Hybrid for 1.9 million hryvnias. According to official income, this is almost seven of her annual salaries.
The financial income of the police chief for 2024 amounted to more than 1.2 million hryvnias in salary, as well as 7.2 thousand hryvnias in social assistance and 50 thousand hryvnias from the sale of a BAJAJ BOXER BM 150 motorcycle. Somewhat earlier, Kovtun himself estimated it much cheaper — less than 30 thousand hryvnias.
His wife, Lyudmila Kovtun, who works at the capital's children's hospital, received 292 thousand hryvnia in salary and 460 thousand hryvnia from the sale of a KIA CEED car. At the same time, in the declaration, Kovtun previously indicated the cost of this car at 189 thousand hryvnia - half the actual sale amount.
The couple's cash savings are declared as joint property. The family keeps 175 thousand hryvnias, 35 thousand dollars, and 15 thousand euros at home. The police chief has 53 thousand hryvnias and 1,250 dollars in bank accounts, his wife has 90 thousand hryvnias and about 200 dollars. Son Denys declared 18 thousand hryvnias in accounts. The family's total savings amount to 2.6 million hryvnias.
The data raises questions about the way expensive cars were purchased, the ratio of income to expenses, and the undervaluation of property that Kovtun and his family members have sold in recent years. All of this may indicate tax evasion or concealment of real financial flows.
