Position: former head of the State Border Service, lieutenant general.
Sphere of corrupt activity: law enforcement.
Region of corruption activity: all of Ukraine.
Qualification: actions are qualified under Part 4 of Article 27, Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status: at large.
Case story: On January 22, 2026, UP sources reported that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office were conducting searches at the home of the former head of the State Border Service, Serhiy Deinek.
Subsequently, anti-corruption authorities announced the exposure of a scheme of systematic bribery of top officials of the State Border Service of Ukraine.
Under the procedural guidance of the SAPO prosecutor, detectives reported suspicion to a former top official and a current official of the State Border Service of Ukraine, who were exposed for systematically receiving illegal benefits for facilitating the unhindered crossing of the state border.
According to the report, it was about:
· General, former head of the State Border Service (Sergiy Deineko);
· Head of the checkpoint department of the State Border Service;
· a former official of the State Border Service.
The actions of the suspects were qualified under Part 4 of Article 27, Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
As part of the pre-trial investigation, it was established that in 2023, with the assistance of officials of the State Border Service, a group of individuals organized the illegal trafficking of cigarettes across the state border of Ukraine to the EU.
For their illegal activities, these individuals used vehicles registered in the Czech Republic and Austria, on which they installed special license plates similar to diplomatic ones.
The passengers of such cars were holders of diplomatic passports — family members of Ukrainian diplomats in Europe. This made it possible to avoid inspection of the cars by border and customs authorities of EU countries.
In turn, Border Guard officials ensured unhindered border crossing from/to Ukraine. It is documented that border guards received about 204 thousand euros in illegal benefits for the passage of 68 vehicles (3,000 euros for each vehicle) during July - November 2023.
In addition, the investigation found that officials of the State Border Guard Service previously served with diplomats, whose relatives later became participants in this scheme.
At the end of January, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) imposed preventive measures on former and current high-ranking officials of the State Border Service of Ukraine (SBSU).
The investigating judge of the High Court of Criminal Procedure partially satisfied the detectives' request and set bail for the former head of the State Border Service of Ukraine in the amount of 10 million hryvnias and for the head of the checkpoint department - 2 million hryvnias.
Law enforcement officers are not naming names. According to media reports, the suspects were former head of the State Border Service of Ukraine Serhiy Deinek and current head of the Solomonovo Border Service department Oleksandr Marushchak.
Both suspects were imposed procedural obligations, including: not to leave Ukraine, not to communicate with the persons involved in the case and witnesses, and to surrender their foreign passports.
On February 2, bail of 10 million hryvnias was set for Serhiy Deinek by the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court. The funds were received from an unknown person shortly after the hearing, while the bail of 2 million hryvnias was not set for another defendant in the proceedings.
In early March 2026, Serhiy Deyneko, who was suspected of involvement in cigarette smuggling, headed the Third Border Detachment named after Hero of Ukraine Colonel Yevheniy Pikus. Ukrainskaya Pravda wrote about this.
Based on the Law of Ukraine "On Military Duty", Lieutenant General Serhiy Deineko is called up for mobilization service. In accordance with the Regulations on Military Service in the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, he is appointed to the position of Chief of the Luhansk Border Guard Detachment
According to him, the circumstances of Deinek's release from military service at the legislative level (decision of the Military Council) do not limit the possibility of serving in the State Security Service of Ukraine upon mobilization.
He added that the former head of the State Border Guard Service was appointed to a position in a combat brigade, taking into account the military experience he had previously acquired in defending the country and performing tasks by units of the border agency.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: Head of the State Border Guard Service checkpoint department Oleksandr Marushchak, as well as a former State Border Guard Service official.
Assets: The 2025 declaration states that Serhiy Deyneko purchased an apartment in Kyiv in April, without specifying the cost. At the same time, he rents another apartment in the capital, and his wife and daughter, based on the declaration data, live separately.
In 2023, Deineko purchased a Toyota Land Cruiser 150 car worth 600 thousand hryvnias.
Deineko's income for 2025 was UAH 1,913,580.
He declared 900,000 hryvnias, 20,000 dollars, and 6,200 euros in cash; his bank accounts have a total of 890,732 hryvnias.
Persons who should have reacted: law enforcement agencies responded in a timely manner to the criminal activities of the officials, presenting them with suspicion.
Scandals: as journalists reported in April 2025, since 2022, Serhiy Deineko and his family have been renting a land plot and a residential building with an area of 301.6 sq. m in the village of Sofiivska Borshchahivka, Kyiv region. The cost of this estate is estimated at almost 4 million UAH. However, in the declaration for 2024, the head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine did not indicate the costs of renting these objects, which is a violation of the Law of Ukraine "On Prevention of Corruption". According to the law, if the annual cost of rent exceeds 151,400 UAH (50 subsistence minimums as of 2024), these costs must be declared.
The landlords are Ukrainian citizens Olena Yurchenko and Rodriguez Villela Henry Leonardo, who own the properties on a joint ownership basis. They are associated with LLC "Crystal Home 1" - a company that has signs of fictitiousness. In particular:
· The company was registered in 2021, but its website was only created in 2024.
· The company name on the website (Crystal Home) is different from the official one (Cristal Home 1).
· The site contains stock photos, AI-generated images, and design errors.
· The contact details on the website do not match the register data.
· The contact form on the website is in Spanish, and the Zadarma platform indicates connections to Spain.
These facts suggest that the lease may be fictitious, and the company a front for complex financial schemes, possibly related to Deinek's wife.
Undeclared apartment in Mukachevo
Also, according to media reports, Serhiy Deyneko purchased an apartment with an area of 70 sq. m in Mukachevo, Transcarpathian region in 2021 for 420 thousand UAH. Today, the market value of such real estate is about 3 million UAH. However, this apartment is not mentioned in the declarations for 2021–2024. Such concealment of assets is a serious violation of anti-corruption legislation.
Interestingly, Mukachevo is known as a center for smuggling operations, and an apartment in this city could be used to control illegal schemes that journalists mention in connection with Deinek's activities.
Scandals with Tupytsky and weapons purchases
In 2022, Serhiy Deyneko, according to journalists, facilitated the flight abroad of Oleksandr Tupytsky, the suspended chairman of the Constitutional Court, despite a travel ban for men of draft age.
In 2024, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine signed a contract for UAH 23 billion with the Polish company Lechmar for the purchase of ammunition. As of April 2025, there is no information about the implementation of the contract, which raised suspicions of a scam involving Andriy Yermak and Rustem Umerov.
Smuggling and accusations of aiding evaders
Serhiy Deineko has been repeatedly accused of involvement in smuggling schemes. While serving as the head of the Luhansk Border Guard Unit (2010–2014), he, according to media reports, controlled smuggling with Russia, transferring part of the proceeds to senior management.
After being transferred to the Western Regional Department of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Deineko took control of the smuggling of cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs in Transcarpathia.
Serhiy's brother, Andriy Deineko, heads the Mogilev-Podilsky border detachment and, according to media reports, organized a channel for smuggling evaders abroad through the Shlyakh system. The cost of such a "service" is $10,000 per person. In 2023–2024, more than 1,000 men left with his assistance, and the scheme operates under the patronage of Serhiy Deineko.
Sources:
https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2026/01/22/8017350/
https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2026/01/22/8017369/
https://suspilne.media/1227405-vaks-priznaciv-10-mln-grn-zastavi-eksgolovi-derzprikordonsluzbi/
https://www.anticor.foundation/novyny/18054/
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/76c17303-5821-4b44-8130-20f748eab9aa