Position: Head of the Tax Audit Department of the Main Department of the State Tax Service in Ivano-Frankivsk region.
Sphere of corruption: tax.
Region of corruption activity: Ivano -Frankivsk region.
Qualification: the official's actions were qualified under Part 2 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status: at large.
Case story: In August 2024, the State Bureau of Investigation reported suspicions against Natalia Bendas, the head of one of the departments of the State Tax Service in Ivano-Frankivsk region, who hid property worth UAH 5.6 million from declaration. The undeclared apartment, garage, and luxury BMW were seized.
As reported by the State Bureau of Investigation on August 30, a tax official entered inaccurate data into annual declarations for 2020-2023. She hid a three-room apartment in the center of Ivano-Frankivsk, where she has been living with her husband and daughter for a long time. The apartment, worth UAH 2.8 million, is registered in the name of the tax official's mother.
The woman also did not provide information about the garage in the regional center. She declared only a small house in one of the villages of Ivano-Frankivsk region, where her mother actually lives.
In addition, the head of the Ivano-Frankivsk regional tax department did not declare the BMW iX electric crossover used by her husband. The luxury car, worth over UAH 2.7 million, is registered to the husband's niece.
The total value of the official's undeclared property is over UAH 5.6 million. During searches at the tax officer's workplace and residence, phones and documents were seized. The court seized the undeclared apartment, garage, and car.
For intentionally entering knowingly false information into the declarations, she faces a fine of UAH 68,000 to 85,000, or from 150 to 200 hours of community service, restriction or imprisonment for a term of up to 2 years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years.
On January 16, 2025, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office filed a lawsuit for civil confiscation of a BMW, worth almost UAH 2.8 million, from the family of Natalia Bendas, head of the tax audit department of the State Tax Service in Ivano-Frankivsk region.
The SAPO said that the BMW IX Xdrive 40 was purchased in Germany in 2022 by the husband of the niece of the head of the traffic police department, but for two years the car was used exclusively by the official's family.
An analysis of the income and expenses of the official and her family established the impossibility of acquiring a vehicle from legal sources. It also established the impossibility of purchasing a car by the family of a close relative of a person authorized to perform state functions.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: open sources do not provide information about possible accomplices of officials.
Assets: There are no income declarations of Natalia Bendas in open sources.
Those who should have reacted: Law enforcement agencies reacted in time, handing over the suspicion to Bendas. However, she still has not received a fair punishment.
Scandals: Before the corruption scheme, she was not seen as a figure in other scandals.
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