Position: Head of the Main Department of the State Tax Service in Ternopil region.
Sphere of corruption: NACP declaration.
Region of corruption activity: Ternopil region.
Qualification: Part 2 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status: at large.
Case story: The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption conducted checks on the official's declaration for 2022 and 2023 and found that the official did not enter information about two houses in which he actually lived with his family. Information about the violation has already been transferred to the State Bureau of Investigation for the opening of criminal proceedings.
According to the results of a full audit of the 2022 declaration, NACP specialists found inaccurate information of over UAH 13.2 million, and in the 2023 declaration - of over UAH 9.3 million, the NACP noted in a statement on Thursday, May 1.
In particular, Mykhailo Yatsyna hid information about two houses. The first house has an area of 296 m2, the second is much smaller – 64.6 m2. NACP employees found out that the owner of these houses, as well as the land under them, is his mother. Mykhailo Yatsyna did not include this property in his declaration, but he, his wife and daughters actually lived there.
"During the inspection, it was established that the owner of the property was not using it. The declarant denied the fact of using the property, but the NACP, together with the State Bureau of Investigation, collected data indicating the opposite."
According to the certificate on the results of the verification of Mykhailo Yatsyna's declaration, during his explanation, he noted that he only looked after the house, and his wife, at the request of his mother, paid the utility bills. However, it is clear from the materials of the criminal proceedings that the SBI officers interviewed Yatsyna's neighbors, who testified that his family has been living in the house since 2022. Law enforcement officers also established mobile communication traffic and recorded that the official, his wife and relatives constantly made calls from this house and the surrounding area. In addition, the head of the condominium association, on whose territory the apartment where Yatsyna and his family were supposed to live is located, noted that the official has not lived there since 2022.
The NACP noted that the conclusions on the identified signs of a criminal offense under Part 2 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (False declaration) were sent to the State Bureau of Investigation, which is conducting a pre-trial investigation on the signs of this offense.
On July 18, the Ternopil Regional Prosecutor's Office filed an indictment against Mykhailo Yatsyna for providing false information in his tax declaration for over UAH 23.4 million. He faces up to two years in prison with a disqualification from holding certain positions or engaging in certain activities for up to three years.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: being identified.
Assets: Mykhailo Yatsyna filed an annual declaration for 2023 as an official of the Main Department of the State Tax Service in Ternopil region. In it, he noted that he lives in Ternopil and holds the position of head of the department, which belongs to the civil service category B and is included in the list of positions with high corruption risks. Together with him, his wife Nataliya Yatsyna and two daughters are mentioned in the declaration. He himself does not own any real estate, but his wife owns an apartment in Ternopil with an area of 122.3 m², purchased in 2012 for UAH 544,235, which Mykhailo and his children also use.
Also registered in Natalia's name are a garage in the city of Kremenets with an area of 31.2 m², valued at UAH 12,815 at the time of purchase; a garage in Ternopil with an area of 23.2 m², purchased in 2018 for UAH 41,955; a land plot with an area of 31.2 m² in Kremenets and another plot of 466 m² in the village of Ikva, for which the value is not specified; two large land plots in the village of Kudlayivka with an area of 18,671 m² and 17,265 m², purchased on July 28, 2021 for UAH 67,487 and UAH 78,250, respectively; as well as a shed (another real estate object) in the village of Ikva with an area of 466 m², purchased in 2012.
The declaration lists a significant number of VAZ (Lada) vehicles: VAZ 21070‑20 2006 worth 29,330 UAH, VAZ 2107‑20 2006 worth 29,330 UAH, VAZ 21070‑20 2006 worth 29,330 UAH, VAZ 21070‑20 2006 worth 29,330 UAH, VAZ 21070‑20 2006 worth 29,330 UAH, VAZ 21070‑20 2006 worth 29,330 UAH, VAZ 21070‑20 2006 worth 29,330 UAH, VAZ 21070‑20 2006 worth 29,330 UAH, worth 29,330 UAH, VAZ 21070‑20 2006 worth 29,330 UAH, VAZ 21070‑20 2006 worth 29,330 UAH, VAZ 21070‑20 2006 worth 29,330 UAH, VAZ 2107‑20 2006 worth 29,330 UAH, VAZ 21043 2006 worth 31,574 UAH, VAZ 21043‑20 2006 worth 31,574 UAH, VAZ 21043‑20 2006 worth 31,574 UAH, VAZ 21043‑20 2006 worth 31,574 UAH, VAZ 2107 2014 worth 26,000 UAH, VAZ 210700‑20 2008 worth 50,936 UAH, VAZ 210700‑20 2008 worth 50,936 UAH, VAZ 210700‑20 2008 worth 50,936 UAH, VAZ 210700‑20 2008 worth 50,936 UAH, VAZ 210700‑20 2008 worth 50,936 UAH, VAZ 210700‑20 2008 worth 50,936 UAH, VAZ 210700‑20 2008 worth 50,936 UAH.
The declaration lists three more cars: a 2011 Citroën C‑4 (value at the date of acquisition 187,500 UAH) owned by Mykhailo Yatsyna, a 2016 Toyota Highlander (value 340,482 UAH) owned by his wife Natalia, and a 2015 BMW 428i (value 323,300 UAH).
In the income section, Mykhailo Yatsyna reported UAH 110,805 in salary received from the Main Department of the State Tax Service in Ternopil region, UAH 67,256 in pension from the Pension Fund, and UAH 119 in interest from PrivatBank. His wife Natalia received UAH 196,829 in salary from the Ternopil Regional Clinical Psychoneurological Hospital and UAH 198 in bank interest. The cash assets column shows UAH 8,801 in Mykhailo's bank account at PrivatBank and UAH 850,000 in cash, as well as UAH 7,298 in Natalia's account and USD 27,500 in cash.
Persons who should have reacted: in the case of Yatsyna, law enforcement officers reacted in a timely manner.
Scandals: Mykhailo Yatsyna was dismissed from his position as head of the Ternopil region's tax service in 2023 after his deputy demanded and received a bribe. A month later, the official began to claim that he had written his resignation letter under pressure and filed a lawsuit in court to be reinstated and receive monetary compensation. The Ternopil District Administrative Court on April 24 reinstated the former head of the region's tax service, Mykhailo Yatsyna.
Sources:
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/857b7325-45f1-4b1b-8a3d-f75511a1d89f