Position: ex-deputy head of the Volyn Regional Government.
The sphere of corrupt activity: national security and defense.
Region of corruption activity: Volyn.
Qualification: Yakymchuk's actions were qualified under part 1 of Art. 255 (creation, management of a criminal community or criminal organization, as well as participation in it); Part 4 of Art. 28, Part 1 of Art. 114-1 (obstructing the legal activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, committed by a group of persons based on a prior conspiracy); Part 4 of Art. 28, Part 3 of Art. 332 (illegal transportation of persons across the state border of Ukraine committed by a criminal organization).
Status: in custody.
The plot of the case: in September 2024, the SBU eliminated a new scheme in Volyn for evasion of mobilization and illegal departure abroad of men of conscription age. According to the special service, the former deputy head of the Volyn regional military administration was involved in the organization of the scheme.
As indicated in the message of the SBU, during her tenure at the OVA, the official set up a scheme for evaders to escape abroad under the guise of drivers transporting humanitarian goods. The cost of such a "service" was up to $5,000 per client.
The organizer involved the director of a local charity fund, which arranged international flights for conscript drivers. In this way, the personal data of conscripts was entered into the "Shlyah" information system, which allowed them to go abroad under the guise of volunteers. In order to find potential clients and transfer money, the person involved involved seven more accomplices.
According to the mass media, the detainee is the ex-deputy head of the Volyn Regional Government Myroslava Yakymchuk. According to the declaration submitted to the NAKC, the official was recently dismissed from OVA - from September 4, 2024.
According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, from August 2022 to April 2023, under the guise of providing volunteer assistance to the Armed Forces, the participants of the scheme organized the illegal crossing of more than 100 conscripts as volunteers across the border.
SBU employees documented the criminal actions of the participants of the scheme and detained the organizer. During the searches, mobile phones and laptops with evidence of illegal activities were seized from the residences of the persons involved.
Currently, the ex-official and her accomplices have been notified of suspicion under the following articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
● Part 1 of Art. 255 (creation, management of a criminal community or criminal organization, as well as participation in it);
● Part 4 of Art. 28, Part 1 of Art. 114-1 (obstructing the legal activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, committed by a group of persons based on a prior conspiracy);
● Part 4 of Art. 28, Part 3 of Art. 332 (illegal transportation of persons across the state border of Ukraine committed by a criminal organization).
Now the ex-official is in custody. The perpetrator and her accomplices face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
Persons potentially involved in the corruption scheme: in addition to Yakymchuk, the director of the local charity fund and seven more accomplices are also involved in the corruption scheme.
Assets: in the declaration for the first year of the full-scale war, Yakymchuk indicated that she owns an apartment in Lutsk and a plot of land, which were purchased in 2009.
Yakymchuk's income at that time amounted to UAH 735,840. At the same time, the ex-official declared $20,000 in cash.
Instead, in 2023, Myroslava Yakymchuk's income amounted to UAH 581,997. Savings have also increased somewhat - the ex-official has already declared $23,000.
Yakymchuk received UAH 611,754 in salary in 2024 after a few months of working in a public position. The ex-official's cash savings have not changed.
Persons who should have responded to corruption schemes: law enforcement agencies responded in time to the criminal activities of Myroslava Yakymchuk and her accomplices.
Scandals: before the emergence of the corruption scheme, Myroslava Yakymchuk was not noticed as a figure in other scandals.
Sources:
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/74b97461-78a4-40b0-8829-6c06455a07a8
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/ab93c3b5-10fa-470a-8940-ffb5bdbf59b4
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/2a231ecf-e1ea-4759-9876-d70f985d9fd1