Position: ex-head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional TCC.
Sphere of corrupt activity: illegal enrichment.
Region of corruption activity: Dnipropetrovsk region.
Qualification: the military commission's actions were qualified under Part 1 of Art. 368-5 (illegal enrichment) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status: at large.
The plot of the case: on August 1, 2023, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, the regional military commissar Anatoly Pikalo was searched. As noted by the law enforcement officers, he purchased $350,000 worth of property during martial law.
During a year and a half of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, the head of the regional TCC managed to arrange for his father several cars and two apartments in the territory of the city of Dnipro. The figure also registered an enterprise for a family member (a natural person-entrepreneur), which purchased non-residential premises with a total area of about 500 m2. However, no income reports from the specified business entity were submitted to the tax authorities.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, searches were conducted at the place of work and residence of the military commissar and his relatives.
At the end of September 2023, the former head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional TCC was charged with illegal enrichment during martial law.
On October 23, they decided to place Anatoly Pikal under 24-hour house arrest on suspicion of illegal enrichment. The prosecutor demanded bail for Pikal in the amount of 8.83 million hryvnias. However, the court, taking into account the fact that the colonel was not hiding from the investigation, sent him under 24-hour house arrest with the wearing of an electronic monitoring device.
Fortune: On August 17, 2023, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NACP) found signs of corruption in Anatoly Pikal.
According to the results of the monitoring of the lifestyle of the military commission, signs were found that testify to his illegal enrichment of almost 8.5 million hryvnias.
It is reported that in the declaration for 2020, Picalo stated that neither he nor his relatives have any monetary assets. However, monitoring established that his father had acquired movable and immovable property worth UAH 7,889,650 over the past 4 years:
● two-apartments with a daily cost of UAH 1,776,000 and UAH 698,950;
● car VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT worth UAH 359,700;
● FORDRANGER car worth UAH 780,000;
● AUDIA6 car worth UAH 1,875,000;
● car VOLKSWAGENID.6 worth UAH 1,300,000.
Also, the father of the military commissar became the sole founder and ultimate beneficial owner of a company with a charter capital of UAH 1,100,000, formed at the expense of his own cash. In July 2023, this company acquired a share of a shopping complex in the Dnipropetrovsk region worth UAH 1,150,000.
"Considering the fact that the size of all acquired assets exceeds the amount of legally received income by the father of the military commissar by almost UAH 6 million, it is obvious that they were purchased on behalf of the military commissar itself and at the expense of funds, the legality of which sources have not been confirmed," the report said.
In 2022, the wife of the military commissar received $65,000 as a gift from her father. The explanation that the donated funds were accumulated during labor activity is also questionable, since the total legal income of the father throughout his life is much less.
In addition, the ex-head of the Dnipropetrovsk TCC in 2021 also acquired several real estate properties for UAH 168,300: two plots of land worth UAH 32,000 and UAH 22,000, as well as a residential building for almost UAH 115,000 UAH, notes NAZK.
Persons who should have reacted to corruption schemes: in the case of Picalo, the law enforcement officers reacted in time, but he is still at large today.
Scandals: before the corruption scandal, he was not noticed as a figure in other scandals.
Sources:
The former military commissar of the Dnipropetrovsk Region was sent under house arrest