Serhiy Bolvinov, deputy head of the Main Police Department in Kharkiv Oblast and head of the investigative department, has found himself at the center of criticism: local activists and complainants claim that under his leadership, investigations into corruption cases often stall or do not reach their logical conclusion, and the absence of declarations in open registers raises additional questions about the transparency of the official's family's income.
At first glance, he is an experienced operative and leader who should ensure the disclosure of the most complex crimes. However, sources in the region and numerous complaints from businesses and public activists paint a different picture: they say that the investigative department headed by Serhiy Bolvinov systematically fails to produce real results in high-profile criminal proceedings related to the embezzlement of budget funds and tender abuses.
Complainants who have sent petitions and written reports about suspicious activities in local procurement complain about formal responses and long "hanging" proceedings without visible investigative actions. Where proceedings are opened, cases, according to informants, do not move for years - there are no large-scale searches, detentions or indictments that would indicate systemic pressure on corruption schemes.
A separate problem for the public has become a large-scale network of call centers in Kharkiv and the region, operating under fraudulent mass call schemes. According to local experts, there are from a hundred to one and a half hundred such points operating; locations are constantly changing, operators quickly resume work after superficial checks. Critics claim that despite the obvious awareness of law enforcement officers, there are no systematic open results of investigations — no large-scale arrests or exposures of the network organizers.
Another complaint is the official's secrecy. There is little information about Bolvinov in open sources; it is known that he is married, has a daughter and two sons, and his family members use expensive housing and cars. According to sources in public registers, there is a selective absence of information about declarations in the available datasets, which, according to activists and investigative journalists, is a serious issue in the context of the legislation on financial control. The lack of official public information about the official's income and property only exacerbates the question of the transparency of the family's sources of funds.
The materials also recall episodes from the past: Bolvinov's name appeared in publications back in 2013 during searches in the MP's reception room, and in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion, the official, according to some reports, temporarily worked outside of Kharkiv, which also caused a public outcry.
Despite the criticism, no official responses from the leadership of the National Police or the NACP regarding the situation surrounding the serious allegations of inaction and lack of declarations have been made public as of now. Representatives of regional authorities and law enforcement officers themselves avoid public comments or limit themselves to general phrases about compliance with the law and internal procedures.
The combination of these facts is causing concern in the public sphere: the lack of progress in investigations of high-profile cases and the opacity of property declarations create a feeling in society that the investigation is not working effectively enough when it comes to possible connections between local authorities and businesses. Residents of the region and activists are demanding an independent review of the work of the investigative department and public explanations from the top leadership of the National Police.
