Investigation: Wealthy Official Received a ₴10 Million Apartment from the State

The Head of the State Department of Affairs Serhiy Borzov, who has been in this position since the summer of 2015, received a free 190 sq.m apartment from his department, Nashi Groshi with Denys Bigus, a TV show of counter-corruption investigations, reports. The State Department of Affairs is an umbrella property management organization.

According to his declaration, Serhiy Borzov had almost ₴400,000 of income, and his wife Iryna had almost ₴1 million last year. The family already owns a land plot, an apartment and house, commercial property in Crimea, a new Toyota Rav4, and Mercedes Vito. Also, Borzov’s wife recently registered a 2016 BMW, with market value of between $40,000 and $65,000.

The ownership rights for the new apartment were fully transferred to Borzov, so he will not have to leave it if he resigns or loses his position. The journalists estimate its market value at about ₴10 million. In addition to Borzov and his wife, there are four more people registered in the apartment. Borzov explained this is due to the need to have grandparents look after the children, as he works very long hours.

The journalists claim that registering other relatives helped Borzov get a bigger apartment, as there is a quota of 13.65 sq.m of living space per person. Even so, 190 sq.m exceeds the quota for six people. In a comment regarding this, Borzov said that apartments are not custom-made, and he received one that was in the pool of available property. His Department ignored a request to provide information on how the size of the free apartment for Borzov and family was calculated.

Source: Ukrayinska Pravda