Position: former Deputy Head of Department of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine.
Sphere of corrupt activity: law enforcement.
Region of corruption activity: all of Ukraine.
Qualification: Part 5 of Article 27 Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status: detained.
The plot of the case: the specialized anti-corruption prosecutor's office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine reported suspicions to a former top prosecutor who helped write off taxes of over UAH 641 million. According to Ukrainska Pravda's sources in law enforcement agencies, this is former deputy head of the department of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, Kostyantyn Kulik.
As noted by the SAPO and NABU, the former deputy head of the department of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine helped one of the heads of the State Fiscal Service abuse his official position, which led to multimillion-dollar losses for the state.
According to the investigation, it all started with a complaint from a business structure about the decision of the State Fiscal Service on additional tax assessment. Consideration of such complaints was within the powers of the First Deputy Head of the State Fiscal Service, Serhiy Bilan, who was supposed to approve the final decision. However, with the help of the suspect, he did not sign the finished project within the established deadline.
On the last day of the complaint consideration period, the prosecutor requested all materials from the enterprise inspection. This allowed the top official of the fiscal authority not to make a decision due to the lack of documents. As a result, the complaint was automatically satisfied, and the budget lost the opportunity to collect taxes and penalties in the amount of more than 641 million UAH. The actions of the former deputy head of the department of the Prosecutor General's Office were qualified as aiding and abetting abuse of office.
Kulyk was previously a military prosecutor of the ATO forces, in April 2017 he was transferred to the position of deputy head of the department of international legal cooperation. In 2016, the Solomianskyi District Court of Kyiv, at the request of NABU detectives, suspended Kulyk from his position for two months. NABU informed him of suspicion of illicit enrichment. In October 2019, it became known that Kulyk had not passed the re-certification by the Prosecutor General's Office and would be dismissed.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: First Deputy Head of the State Fiscal Service Serhiy Bilan.
It should be noted that Bilan was notified of the suspicion in February 2025. At that time, journalist Oleg Novikov said that this was a complaint by Oschadbank against the decision of the Office of Large Taxpayers of the State Fiscal Service to charge the financial institution with a monetary obligation for payment of tax on income of non-residents. Oschadbank applied a reduced tax rate on income of Cypriot offshore companies during 2013-2016 - instead of 15%, a rate from 0 to 2% was applied.
Assets: in the declaration upon dismissal for 2019, Kostyantyn Kulyk declared: a land plot in the settlement of Stara Moskovka, Kharkiv district, Kharkiv region, area 2016 m², date of acquisition of the right 04/13/1999, 100% ownership, a land plot in the settlement of Yefremivka, Pervomaysky district, Kharkiv region, area 106,222 m², date of acquisition of the right 01/20/2005, 100% ownership, an apartment in the city of Kyiv, area 249.3 m², date of acquisition of the right 08/05/2014, value 4,151,000 UAH, 100% ownership, another right of use — free use for children, an apartment in the city of Kyiv, area 92.6 m², value 558,773 UAH, property of his daughter, an apartment in the city of Kyiv, area 153.2 m², date of acquisition of the right 09/01/2014, other right of use — registration until 12/13/2019.
He also declared a Mercedes-Benz S600 passenger car, year of manufacture 1998, date of acquisition of the right 20.03.2018, cost 48,000 UAH. In addition, he declared a salary at his main place of work from the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine in the amount of 689,093 UAH.
Kostyantyn Kulyk declared the following monetary assets: cash in the amount of UAH 47,000, funds in bank accounts at JSC CB "PrivatBank" in the amount of UAH 11,554, funds in bank accounts at JSC "Raiffeisen Bank Aval" in the amount of UAH 55,284, funds in bank accounts at JSC "Raiffeisen Bank Aval" in the amount of EUR 129.
Persons who should have reacted: in the case of Kulik, law enforcement officers reacted in a timely manner, however, a trail of criminal proceedings has long been trailing behind him.
Scandals: In 2016, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) accused the military prosecutor of the Anti-Terrorist Operation forces, Kostyantyn Kulik, of having his expenses exceed his income and of hiding new expensive purchases, according to the suspicion announced to him.
The document, a photocopy of which is provided by Ukrainska Pravda, states that "for the period from 2011 to December 31, 2015, Kulyk, working in the prosecutor's office, according to the State Fiscal Service, received a total income of UAH 1,670,293.27 - salary, state social payments for rehabilitation and solving social and household needs, he did not receive official loans and credits."
The document also mentions Kulyk's common-law wife, Iryna Nimets. "In the period from 2011 to April 14, 2015, with a combined total income of 1,018,803.33, Kulyk acquired assets worth 1,966,565.75 UAH into his and Nimets' joint ownership."
The suspicion focuses on the fact that Kulyk and Nimets began living together in apartment No. 1327 at 59 Zhylyanska Street in Kyiv, which was registered in his mother's name. At the same time, investigators indicate that Kulyk's mother never lived in this apartment.
Investigators add that in 2013-2015, Kulyk and Nimets went abroad on vacation together twice. In November 2013, they went to Israel for four days. And in 2015, they went to Bulgaria for 10 days by car. Investigators emphasize that Nimets' income for the indicated period was UAH 160,798.17.
In May 2014, "pursuing the goal of acquiring property and hiding it from mandatory declaration, Kulyk transferred 120 thousand US dollars to Nimets" (equivalent to 1,396,512 UAH) to purchase a car. On May 26, 2014, Nimets bought a TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 200 for 1,210,825 UAH, which was then registered to her. The car was not reflected in the declaration, the suspicion states. Kulyk is also accused of having, "pursuing the goal of concealing the ownership of assets," registered a non-residential premises in a building at 59 Zhylyanska Street for Nimets — worth 169,500.
The suspicion states that Kulyk also bought apartment No. 1326 on Zhylyanska from a person who had previously bought it from the mother of Iryna Myshkova, with whom Kulyk lived until 2011. The suspicion states that the apartment was under arrest and that Kulyk bought it 250,000 cheaper than the previous owner bought it.
In addition, the suspicion states that in April 2015, Kulyk bought a parking space for UAH 99,187.50, which he registered in the name of Nimets.
At the same time, investigators note that during the period from 2011 to April 25, 2015, 758,966.74 UAH were credited to his cards, 747,081.15 UAH were debited, of which 182,356.27 UAH went to gas stations, 360,714.88 UAH to goods, services and food in establishments, and 204,010 UAH was withdrawn in cash. In addition, it is indicated that Kulyk had 43,700 euros (equivalent to 653,728.43 UAH) on his currency cards, which were withdrawn in Germany and Luxembourg by “unidentified persons.”
According to the above, in the period from 2011 to April 26, 2015, Kulyk received UAH 758,966.74, while his losses exceeded his income by UAH 2,608,408.59 and amounted to UAH 3,367,375.33.
Further, according to the document, in the period from April 26, 2015 to December 31, 2015 — from the time the amendments to the Criminal Code regarding illicit enrichment came into force, Kulyk acquired assets into joint ownership of him and Nimets, the legality of which is not confirmed by evidence — in the amount of UAH 286,6306.
In addition, according to the suspicion, in July 2015, Kulyk “acquired joint ownership” of an apartment on Ivana Kudri Street, “by purchasing securities, namely bonds,” the ownership of which was registered in the name of Nimets. The value of the bonds was 2,768,768. “This is more than twice the joint income of Kulyk and Nimets for the period from April 1 to December 31, 2015,” the suspicion states.
The document states that on November 30, 2015, Kulyk bought another parking space in an underground garage on Zhylyanska Street and registered it to Nimets. The cost is UAH 97,538. Investigators indicate that between April 26, 2015 and December 31, 2015, UAH 573,174.52 was credited to Kulyk's card and UAH 553,018.01 was debited, which went to gas stations, goods and services in stores and restaurants, housing and communal services for apartments No. 1327 and No. 1326 and non-residential premises No. 1420 on Zhylyanska Street, 59. UAH 182,200 was withdrawn in cash. Investigators emphasize that in this way, during the period from April 26, 2015 to December 31, 2015, Kulyk acquired assets in the amount of UAH 2,866,306 in joint ownership, which were transferred to Nimets.
The suspicion states that all these assets are not reflected in Kulyk's declaration. In addition, investigators emphasize that Kulyk did not indicate in the 2013 declaration a TOYOTA LAND CRUISER 100 car manufactured in 2003, which he began using in 2010 on the basis of a power of attorney issued by Zhilin Volodymyr, the father of one of the leaders of the terrorist organization "Oplot" Yevgeny Zhilin.
According to suspicion, Kulyk still uses this car, although Nimets became the owner of the car in October 2010.
In a comment to the publication, Kulyk called this suspicion "a delusional and generally speculative statement."
In 2017, it became known that the Press Service of the Kyiv Administrative Court reported that the Kyiv District Administrative Court had ruled to pay former prosecutor Konstantin Kulik 1 million 149 thousand hryvnias in unpaid wages.
It should be noted that the military prosecutor of the Anti-Terrorist Operation forces, Kostyantyn Kulik, was discharged from military service in April 2017. In October 2019, he sued the Prosecutor General's Office for unpaid wages.
The court reports that the personnel department did not send a copy of Kulyk's personal file to the relevant military commissariat within seven days of receiving the order to dismiss him for military registration.
In particular, the court established that the amount of a one-time cash benefit of 50% of the monthly cash benefit for each calendar year of service, which was to be paid to the plaintiff, was UAH 468,217.80. And since the time of delay in the payment of such amount by the State Prosecutor's Office as of the time of the court decision was 663 working days, the court, based on the requirements of Article 117 of the Labor Code of Ukraine, was, among other things, obliged the defendant to pay Kulyk K.G. his average earnings for the entire time of delay in the amount of UAH 1,149,734.82.
In 2018, it became known that the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption did not find any signs of illicit enrichment in the electronic declaration of the former ATO prosecutor, Deputy Head of the Department of International Legal Cooperation of the Prosecutor General's Office, Konstantin Kulik, for 2015.
Sources:
https://zaxid.net/stalo_vidomo_v_chomu_zvinuvachuyut_prokurora_ato_kostyantina_kulika_n1396345
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/e1e77100-65a1-4ed1-83ee-f5d48c25ea2c