Position: deputy of the Kyiv Regional Council, member of the parliamentary faction of the political party "Servant of the People".
Sphere of corruption: agricultural.
Region of corruption activity: Kyiv region, Chernihiv region.
Qualification: the actions are qualified under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (embezzlement, embezzlement of property or taking possession of it through abuse of official position, committed on a particularly large scale by an organized group).
Status: at large.
The plot of the case: in early February 2026, the Security Service of Ukraine, together with the NABU, exposed the current people's deputy for organizing a scheme to misappropriate property of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences in the amount of more than 30 million UAH.
According to "Word and Deed", we are talking about People's Deputy Anatoliy Hunko, who in August 2023 was already exposed by the SSU and NABU for taking a bribe of $85,000.
As noted, during 2021–2023, the People's Deputy used controlled agricultural lands for the cultivation and illegal sale of wholesale batches of grain through a network of affiliated companies. In total, this amounted to more than 2.5 thousand tons of agricultural products. In order to hide illegal activities, the perpetrators did not reflect the real amount of harvested crops in shipping documents.
The deal involved a deputy of the Kyiv Regional Council (Olexandr Polyarush), two heads of state-owned enterprises of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences, and a confidant of the people's deputy. They acted as intermediaries and organizers of the illegal circulation of agricultural products.
Based on the collected evidence, the People's Deputy and four of his accomplices were notified of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (embezzlement or embezzlement of property in especially large amounts by an organized group). They face up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property. The issue of choosing preventive measures is currently being resolved.
Subsequently, the High Anti-Corruption Court applied a preventive measure in the form of a bail of 990 thousand hryvnias with the assignment of duties to a deputy of the Kyiv Regional Council, who is suspected of misappropriating agricultural products of state-owned enterprises that are part of the structure of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences.
According to media reports, it was about deputy Oleksandr Polyarush, who, together with People's Deputy Anatoly Hunko, is suspected of organizing the seizure of state-owned enterprises' harvest worth UAH 30 million.
At the request of the NABU detective, approved by the SAPO prosecutor, the investigating judge of the High Criminal Court of Ukraine applied a preventive measure to the deputy of the Kyiv Regional Council, who, together with other persons, was caught seizing agricultural products of state-owned enterprises included in the structure of the NAAS. Thus, the court partially satisfied the request and applied a preventive measure to the suspect in the form of a bail in the amount of UAH 990 thousand, and also imposed relevant procedural obligations
Deputy Polyarush is obliged: not to leave the Kyiv region and Kyiv without permission; to report any change in his place of residence and work; to refrain from communicating with other suspects and witnesses in this case; to hand over his foreign passports and wear an electronic bracelet.
The High Anti-Corruption Court also applied a preventive measure to the accomplice in the case in the form of a 4.9 million UAH bail with relevant procedural obligations.
In addition, the High Anti-Corruption Court seized the property of the Deputy Mayor of Bila Tserkva, a member of the Kyiv Regional Council, Oleksandr Polyarush.
The court imposed an arrest on two residential buildings belonging to Polyarush in Bila Tserkva, Kyiv region, with areas of 69.2 and 180.3 square meters; two land plots in Volitsa, Fastiv district, Kyiv region, with areas of 1.72 and 0.25 hectares, and land in Bila Tserkva with an area of 0.1 hectares.
The motion to seize property shall be partially granted. To impose an arrest with a prohibition on alienation on the property (Polyarusha)
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: People's Deputy Anatoliy Hunko, two heads of state-owned enterprises of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences (including the former acting director of the state-owned enterprise "Research Farm "Ivanivka" Mykola Polovik), and a confidant of the People's Deputy.
Assets: in the declaration for 2024, Polyarush indicated that he owns a house in Bila Tserkva with an area of 69.2 sq. m and several land plots in Bila Tserkva and the village of Volitsa, moreover, the cost of most of the objects is not indicated. His wife owns a house with an area of 180.3 sq. m and a number of land plots in the Kyiv region. Some of them are declared at a relatively low cost, some - without indicating the price.
The family's fleet is partially registered to third parties. The deputy owns a 2013 Toyota Land Cruiser 200. A 2018 Nissan Rogue belongs to a relative, but is used by his wife. A 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser is leased from a company associated with a relative. He also owns a Geringhoff agricultural harvester.
In 2024, Polyarush received UAH 857,000 in salary from the executive committee of the Bila Tserkva City Council. His wife declared UAH 242,000 in salary and about UAH 35,000 in rental income. The daughters received non-refundable financial assistance, the source of which was not specified.
The family's cash savings amount to tens of thousands of dollars and euros, as well as several hundred thousand hryvnias in bank accounts. The total amount of savings exceeds 6 million hryvnias in hryvnia equivalent.
Persons who should have reacted: law enforcement agencies responded to the corruption scheme in a timely manner, handing over suspicions to all its participants.
Scandals: according to the media, despite his rich political background, the deputy regularly finds himself at the center of scandals. Polyarusha is linked to the company "BILOTSERKIVROSOPTTORG", which is involved in a number of high-profile tender and corruption scandals in Bila Tserkva. This company, according to media reports, is associated with former representatives of the "Party of Regions" and long-time associates of the deputy, and for years received multi-million contracts from the Department of Housing and Communal Services of the Bila Tserkva City Council, which is subordinate to Polyarusha. According to journalists, more than 400 million UAH was withdrawn through this company.
The firm found itself at the center of investigations into possible embezzlement of funds for the reconstruction of the Sukhyi Yar cemetery, the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred Square, and other facilities, where auditors and journalists revealed inflated estimates and a lack of competition in the bidding process. After the publication of information about the possible withdrawal of hundreds of millions of hryvnias through the company, a change in the management and ownership structure of the company occurred, which only increased suspicions of attempts to distance the real beneficiaries from financial flows and minimize reputational risks for Polyarush and his entourage.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Polyarush was responsible for the construction of defensive structures in Bila Tserkva. According to media reports, the shelters built under his supervision were put into operation with numerous violations, and the budget for them was significantly overstated. The military appealed to the president with a demand to hold the official accountable, but received no response.
In 2021, journalists reported on two cars near the official's residence – a Lexus and a Mazda 3 – registered to one of his daughters, but not reflected in the declaration.
After that, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption conducted an audit of the declaration for 2020 and found that the official did not indicate information about property, income and transport in the amount of more than 1 million UAH. Among the unspecified items are information about two daughters, two apartments in Bila Tserkva, the right to use his wife's house and land plot, data about her companies, as well as income from insurance payments and the sale of a Lexus RX 350 car. Separately, income from the sale of a 2008 Nissan Pathfinder was not declared. The NACP established signs of an administrative offense regarding the submission of false information.
In 2024, Oleksandr Polyarush again found himself at the center of public resonance when, together with Serhiy Levchenko, he publicly declared his readiness to bail out MP Mykola Tyshchenko, who was informed of Tyshchenko's suspicion in the illegal detention of a former serviceman in Dnipro. This statement was made against the backdrop of wide media coverage, and Polyarush himself actually demonstrated political solidarity with the person involved in the case.
Public episodes during the full-scale war also caused a reputational resonance. In particular, it became known about his stay in Italy at the five-star Grand Hotel Excelsior Vittoria, which is one of the most expensive hotels in Sorrento. The cost of a room is approximately 62 thousand UAH per day. When asked by journalists, the official replied that he had the right to rest and allegedly performed his duties remotely.
Sources:
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/5f8aa258-96ee-482c-a784-ebd1ae8112fc