Position: former head of the regional service center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Rivne region.
Sphere of corrupt activity: law enforcement.
Region of corruption activity: Rivne region.
Qualification: currently absent, however, law enforcement officers have initiated a pre-trial investigation based on the fact of false declaration (Part 1, Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
Status: at large.
Scandals: On September 11, 2025, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NACP) revealed violations in the declaration of the former head of the regional service center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Rivne region, Valeriy Belets. The official hid information about property worth UAH 3.1 million. Now he faces criminal liability.
As reported by the press service of the NACP, during the inspection of Valeriy Belets' income declaration for 2023, law enforcement officers discovered that the former employee hid:
· two land plots (930 m2 and 915 m2) in Rivne, received as a gift from his wife, the market value of which is over 3.17 million UAH;
· income in the form of a gift in non-cash form – these same land plots;
· the wife's income from the payment of a share in the authorized capital of Vilar-Trade LLC after leaving its membership.
According to the investigation, in 2023, Valeriy Belets and his wife Natalia became the founders of Vilar-Trade LLC, a company involved in smuggling through the occupied territories of Donbas in 2019. The former owner's wife was among the founders of the company for only one day, after which she received ownership of two land plots as part of her share of the authorized capital.
Law enforcement officers have launched a pre-trial investigation into the fact of false declaration (Part 1, Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The sanction of the article provides for a fine or up to two years of restriction of liberty.
At the same time, back in December 2023, journalists reported that Belets and his wife Natalia, a pensioner, were actively buying up land plots in the Rivne region. According to journalists, in 2023 they became the founders of the limited liability company "Vilar-Trade", which "has a dirty reputation and is associated with smuggling."
As journalists have reported, there are many well-hidden, complexly organized corruption schemes involving Belets. Here are some of them, according to journalists.
Scheme number 1
On the official website of the Main Service Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the “check mark” “Successes of 2022” flutters as a headline and achievement. He was included in the list of persons subject to an inspection to cleanse the authorities. There is an employee’s statement, a declaration, and the results of the inspection, in which nothing was found regarding Belets.
Now let's pay attention to the year the declaration is dated - 2016. But the reported successes - 2022.. How is that?
We will provide evidence and fill in the missing years and lines in Valeriy Belets declaration.
Scheme number 2
From the outdated information, but the declaration, we learn the name of Valery's wife - Belets Natalia Borisovna, a pensioner, born in 68. But since 2019, the pensioner has begun to actively increase family capital.
There is a limited liability company "Vilar-Trade" in the Rivne region, which has repeatedly caught the eye of law enforcement agencies and has a dirty reputation, namely, the activities of "Vilar-Trade" are associated with the illegal transportation of contraband through the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the same 2019, for the indicated amounts of more than 2 billion hryvnias. There is a publicly disclosed criminal proceeding and court cases from 2023, with a decision of the Krasnogvardiyskyi District Court of the city of Dnipropetrovsk.
And now about the direct participation of pensioner Natalia. Vilar-Trade owned 16 land plots, 15 of which were registered in the fall of 2021. On May 16, 2023, Natalia Borisovna Belets suddenly joined the founders of the company. On May 17, the day after joining, she already submitted an application to withdraw from the founders and pay off her share. The enterprising pensioner, after a one-day stay in management, received two meager such land plots as part of her share of the payment.
And that's not all. A few clicks in the search engine and – the family of the Balti official may be connected not only with smuggling and corruption deals, but also with collaborative activities...
The company of the same name, “Vilar Trade,” but registered back in 2011, actually operates in Moscow on Lykhovye Provl. And here – no comments. Let us just remind you that the smuggling went through the occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Scheme number 3
The Belets family involves a close friend of the family – Siva Svitlana Pylypivna, a wealthy person, the founder of the rental company of the sanatorium “Chervona Kalina” – in a corruption scheme. And – a neighbor. The cadastral map shows an elite place near the lake and three land plots nearby – the property of Messrs. Belets and Svitlana Pylypivna.
This lady exactly repeated the corrupt steps of her predecessor, Natalia Belets, by also joining and leaving the founders of Vilar-Trade and receiving land as part of the payment.
Scheme number 4
In parallel with financial enrichment, the leader of Belets needs even more power and recognition in the Rivne region - not every month during his rule he appears on local TV, where he "bathes" in the "warm baths" of the presenters with the right and convenient questions. Sometimes he "gets hot" and calls them "you" (but quickly corrects himself so that no one guesses), they advertise him - he orders them stories about himself - and so on for years.
Scheme number 5
Belets has spread his hands everywhere in the region, as evidenced by some coincidences that are not coincidences at all. The Rivne administration awards the corrupt friend Siva Svitlana Pylypivna with a valuable gift and the Honorary Medal of the regional council. The director of "Rivneoblvodokanal" removes restrictions on the use of land plots for both Ms. Natalia Belets and the criminal "Vilar-Trade".
So, a former STS employee and subordinate of Balti holds a position in the Dubna District State Administration. And, of course, she distributes state registration of rights to land plots to Vilar-Trade and active pensioners.
Scheme number 6
Here we should also pay attention to the fact that legally, those lands owned by the Balts family and its circle have already begun to be registered by anyone - departments for providing administrative services, departments of some village councils, etc.
Assets: In the uncorrected declaration for 2023, Belets indicated that he owns one apartment in the city of Rivne. However, in the corrected declaration, he added two land plots, as well as living in a residential building and using another land plot.
Also, in the uncorrected declaration, the former official indicated that he uses a Suzuki Jimny, and his wife owns an Audi A3 (the latter fact was removed in the updated declaration).
Also in the corrected declaration, Belets indicated that for 2023 his income amounted to UAH 3,502,465, and his wife's - UAH 288,080.
Belets declared UAH 3,747,631 and USD 15,000 in cash, with a total of UAH 722,527 in his bank accounts. At the same time, his wife Natalia declared UAH 120,000 and USD 8,000 in cash, with UAH 79,024 in her bank account.
Related persons: Balts's wife Natalia may also be involved in his criminal activities.
Persons who should react: NABU detectives and SAPO prosecutors should pay attention to the activities of the former official.
Sources:
https://www.infopotik.com.ua/valerij-belets-rivnenskyj-chynovnyk-yakyj-zaroblyaye-na-vijni
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/06417ffb-18f5-44ab-b741-7c4e3632c2f5