Position: Shvaykiv village head, Berdychiv district, Zhytomyr region.
Sphere of corruption: construction, minerals.
Region of corruption activity: Zhytomyr region.
Qualification: reported on suspicion of aiding and abetting illegal sand mining on a large scale in a prior conspiracy by a group of persons, abuse of official position, which caused serious consequences for the environment, and extortion and receiving unlawful benefits under four articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Part 5 of Article 27; Part 3 of Article 240; Part 2 of Article 364; Part 3 of Article 368.
Status : suspended from office, in custody.
Case story : In July 2023, Suspilne Zhytomyr reported that the SBU had searched the house of the head of the Shvaykivska community, Gabriel Mkrtchyan. In his Facebook post, Gabriel Mkrtchyan wrote that law enforcement officers from the SBU were searching him for things, objects, and equipment that could prove his connection to the Russian Federation.
The first court hearing in the Mkrtchyan case took place in Berdychiv on August 11. Gabriel Mkrtchyan himself does not admit his guilt and says that he considers the testimony of the prosecution witnesses to be slander. Since the prosecution witnesses did not come to court, the hearing was postponed to September 20.
On August 14, law enforcement officers conducted searches at the Berdychiv District State Administration building - the searches were conducted in an office rented by the leadership of the Shvaikivka Territorial Community. Deputy Head of the Shvaikivka Community, Eduard Tomashevsky, told Suspilny that the searches were related to illegal sand mining in the community by one of the private entrepreneurs.
On September 20, the Berdychiv court continued to consider the case of Gabriel Mkrtchyan, accused of collaborationism, by hearing the prosecution's witnesses.
On November 29, the Prosecutor's Office and the Security Service of the Zhytomyr region reported suspicions against the head of the community of receiving a bribe for aiding and abetting illegal sand mining on the lands of the Shvaykivska community and causing damage to the environment of almost a million hryvnias.
Also on November 29, 2023, the court in Berdychiv continued to consider the case on charges of collaboration, where a local police officer was questioned. On March 20, the court heard an expert's conclusion that at the moment when Mkrtchyan allegedly called for not to resist the Russian Federation, his phone was several kilometers from the scene of the incident.
In April 2024, the Berdychiv City District Court began considering the merits of the case regarding illegal sand mining, one of the defendants in which is the head of the Shvaykiv community, Gabriel Mkrtchyan.
In July 2025, law enforcement officers detained the head of one of the communities in the Berdychiv district and his accomplice. The men are suspected of embezzling 200,000 hryvnias from the community budget, half of which, according to the investigation, was received by the head of the community.
From its own sources, Suspilny learned that this is the head of the Shvaykivska community, Gabriel Mkrtchyan.
According to law enforcement officials, the village head involved a familiar businessman in the repair of an outpatient clinic in the Berdychiv district. The repair itself was carried out a few months earlier by the hands of convicts, and the "kickback" for the implementation of the criminal scheme in the amount of 200 thousand hryvnias, according to the investigation, the accomplices divided among themselves. After transferring the money, both accomplices were detained.
Mkrtchyan was remanded in custody with the possibility of posting bail.
This was told to Suspilny by Anna Ostrovska, a spokeswoman for the Zhytomyr Regional Prosecutor's Office.
Based on the results of consideration of the motions submitted by the prosecutor, the Korolyov District Court of Zhytomyr chose preventive measures for the suspects in the form of detention with the possibility of posting bail. The court set the bail amount for the entrepreneur at 242 thousand hryvnias, for the village head - 908 thousand hryvnias
On July 31, 2025, a court in Zhytomyr region granted the motion of the prosecutor's office and temporarily suspended Gabriel Mkrtchyan from performing his duties as head of the Shvaykiv community.
According to the court's ruling, the suspect Gabriel Karlenovich Mkrtchyan was suspended from the position of Shvaykiv village head of Berdychiv district, Zhytomyr region, as a measure to secure criminal proceedings. The suspension will be in effect until September 24, 2025 inclusive.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: being identified.
Assets: in the declaration of the village head for 2024, in addition to the apartment and salary of 388,024 UAH, there is also a Mercedes GLS 450 2021 model year car worth 4.8 million UAH, which Gabriel Mkrtchyan has been renting from Best Leasing LLC since March 22, 2022.
Persons who should have reacted: in the case of Mkrtchyan, law enforcement officers reacted in a timely manner.
Scandals: The National Agency for Corruption Prevention is conducting an audit of the 2023 declaration of the village head of the Shvaikivska united territorial community of Berdychiv district, Mkrtchyan Gabriel Karlenovich. This information was published on the NACP website. Gabriel Mkrtchyan's declaration, which is being audited by the National Agency, does not contain information about any property, cash or funds in bank accounts, only the salary received in 2023 in the Shvaikivska village council is indicated - 351 thousand 798 UAH.
Sources:
https://suspilne.media/amp/zhytomyr/1073823-golovu-svajkivskoi-gromadi-na-zitomirsini-zatrimali/
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/bce6604e-6feb-43f9-90f1-6f2be7dcb577