Position: deputy of the Uzhhorod City Council.
Sphere of corruption: local government.
Region of corruption activity: Uzhhorod city.
Qualification: under Part 2 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (false declaration).
Status: at large.
Case story: At the end of June 2026, the current deputy of the Uzhhorod City Council was informed of suspicion of false declarations totaling UAH 78 million. Law enforcement officials claim that he did not declare the use of a hotel and restaurant complex and indicated in his declaration an income that exceeded his official income.
Law enforcement officers do not specify the name of the suspect, but the facade and logo of the hotel and restaurant complex "Kilikia" in Uzhhorod are visible in the photos distributed by the UCP. The tenant of the complex is the current deputy of the Uzhhorod City Council, Arsen Melkumyan, who regularly shoots videos from the restaurant.
According to the investigation, during the inspection of the deputy's declaration for 2024, law enforcement officers discovered that he did not declare the use of a hotel with an area of over 1,074 m², a bathhouse, a catering facility with a swimming pool, a cafe-bar, and other facilities. The total value of the undeclared real estate is almost UAH 50 million.
In addition, the deputy declared together with his wife (Maryana Melkumyan – ed.) over 108 million UAH of cash in hryvnia equivalent, however, their officially confirmed financial capabilities indicate the possibility of accumulating only a little over 78.1 million UAH. Thus, the difference between declared assets and confirmed income exceeds 28.3 million UAH.
According to law enforcement officials, the total amount of false information in the declaration is almost UAH 78 million. The deputy was informed of suspicion under Part 2 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (false declaration).
In a comment to "Public", Melkumyan stated that he is managing the property of "Cilicia" by proxy, since the complex belongs to his mother. The MP claims that he has a response from the NACP - he is not required to declare such property.
This property does not belong to me. An investigation is underway. They are deliberately putting pressure on me in advance, as a deputy, as a citizen, without having the court's conclusions yet. The hotel belongs to my mother. And it has belonged to her for 20 years. That is, I did not become a deputy and I got a hotel. On the contrary, I, having a hotel and restaurant complex, went to the authorities myself to deal with matters for the good of our city. I called the NACP hotline, I have a message from them that I am not an official who must declare such things. And what the prosecutor's office has done now is probably unreliable, it is not a reason to do such PR. Based on a notarial power of attorney, I manage the property
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: no information is available from open sources about possible accomplices.
Assets: in his 2025 declaration, Melkumyan indicated that he owned seven land plots.
In addition, Melkumyan owns a Mercedes-Benz Esprinter truck (purchased in 2025) and two cars: a Ford Transit Custom (purchased in 2019) and a Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 (purchased in 2023).
Melkumyan's income for 2025 was UAH 9,796,974.
Melkumyan's main monetary assets are in the form of cash in a bank box, namely: $928,642, €769,500, and UAH 3,378,000.
Persons who should have reacted: law enforcement agencies responded to the criminal scheme in a timely manner, handing over the suspicion to Melkumyan.
Scandals: Before the corruption scheme, he was not seen as a figure in other scandals.
Sources:
https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2026/06/18/8039915/
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/18e6fe9e-aa90-4923-812b-ef42d6bed21c