Ukrainian Customs Chief’s Lavish Way of life Sparks Corruption Considerations

An RFE/RL investigation has revealed that the household of a senior Ukrainian customs chief has a portfolio of luxurious actual property and vehicles whereas additionally having fun with a luxurious life-style amid considerations over corruption which have sparked Ukraine’s greatest protests since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

The findings are available a report by Schemes, the investigations unit of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, elevating questions in regards to the life-style of 44-year-old Anatoliy Komar and his household, in addition to the way it was all paid for.

The case additionally underlines why odd Ukrainians and Western governments have pushed Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to reverse a legislation that took away the independence of the nation’s main anti-corruption our bodies.

Komar turned head of the Customs Service division that levies duties on imports and exports of oil, gasoline, and different power in February 2022, simply earlier than Moscow’s all-out invasion.

Soon after, he was additionally tasked with stopping prohibited Russian gas coming into the Ukrainian market. Prior to working on the Customs Service, he had a 20-year profession at Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and a spell at a non-public power firm.

In addition to Komar’s month-to-month wage of about $2,000, the household’s fundamental earnings comes from his spouse, Maria, who works as a tour information and gives on-line programs. Her declared earnings is far increased, at round $8,000 per 30 days.

But an in depth take a look at the household outgoings suggests a a lot increased earnings can be required to help their life-style.

For instance, the couple have formally declared that their daughter lives in Ukraine, however this doesn’t seem like the case.

In May 2023, she posted a photograph on social media exhibiting her commencement from the Pascal English School Larnaka on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, which had annual charges for schooling and lodging of almost $30,000.

Her social media feed additionally reveals her at a Van Gogh exhibition in London, jet snowboarding in Albania, and having fun with visits to Venice, Dublin, and Montreux. This yr, she seems to be finding out at King’s College London, the place undergraduate tuition charges for non-UK college students alone are almost $35,000 per yr.

‘Wealthy Godfather’

Asked to elucidate how this was financed, Komar instructed RFE/RL that he wouldn’t touch upon private issues. When pressed, he mentioned it was paid for by a “godfather” who was a “fairly wealthy person,” however didn’t elaborate.

Komar has a distinct clarification for the Mercedes he drives. His official property declaration states that his spouse rents it. When RFE/RL requested how a lot this price, Komar refused to say.

He’s been utilizing the automobile since 2021. Three car-rental corporations instructed RFE/RL that the S-class would have price $6,000 a month again in 2018.

This alone can be an enormous expense, however right here the plot thickens.

The automobile is registered to a renewable power agency known as the Primorskiy Energy Generating Company. Its tax studies present it has earned some $14,000 over the past three years from renting out autos.

It has three vehicles, however even when it solely rented out Komar’s, this may make simply $360 per 30 days, some 16 occasions lower than the market value.

The director of the corporate, Roman Vorabel, instructed RFE/RL that hiring its vehicles can be “expensive” earlier than saying he wanted to talk to a lawyer earlier than answering any additional questions. He then stopped answering the cellphone.

Komar’s spouse, Maria, mentioned she would reply questions in writing, however has not accomplished so.

Meanwhile, the household’s property portfolio additionally raises query marks.

In 2021, Komar turned the proprietor of an condominium in a Kyiv residential advanced value some $90,000.

But the household don’t reside there. In 2020, they moved into one other condominium bought by Maria’s father, Serhiy Hladkov.

Indeed, the household claims to have acquired varied varieties of help from family, together with almost $50,000 from Maria’s mom, Lidia, in 2021, and almost $70,000 from her grandmother.

But 69-year-old Serhiy Hladkov’s function stands out.

In February 2025, he accomplished building of a sprawling 450-square-meter home on land within the village of Vyshenky, close to Kyiv.

The worth of the house, which features a swimming pool, two kitchens, and house for employees, is estimated at greater than $1 million. This is with out prices of home equipment, furnishings, or plumbing, in keeping with architects interviewed by RFE/RL.

Hladkov additionally spends cash on vehicles, together with a 2024 Volvo XC90 value almost $50,000.

Math Doesn’t Add Up

Komar instructed RFE/RL he didn’t know the place Hladkov received his cash from. Hladkov instructed RFE/RL he had earned the cash after which hung up.

According to data that RFE/RL obtained from sources with entry to earnings tax knowledge, Hladkov labored at a state-owned metalworking plant in Chernivtsi from 1998 to 2009, having an official wage of lower than $200 per 30 days.

Later, in 2019, aged 63, he turned self-employed and recorded a speedy enhance in earnings, making a complete of almost $400,000 by March 2025.

Hladkov’s spouse, Lidia Hladkova, has the same story.

After a modest wage throughout her complete working life, she turned self-employed and made a complete of almost $180,000. The couple had been registered as organizers of congresses and commerce festivals.

Lidia Hladkova declined to remark.

Even if they’d not spent any cash of their complete lives, these earnings wouldn’t have been sufficient for the villa in Vyshenky. Yet the couple had been additionally in a position to buy the condominium the place Komar lives, and one other one close by, in addition to allegedly present the gifted money to Komar’s household.

As effectively as discovering that the maths doesn’t add up, RFE/RL’s investigation additionally uncovered one other affiliation of Komar that raised questions.

Komar is president of an beginner soccer staff in his house city, Rokyta, within the Poltava area. It is sponsored by an organization, VM Groupe, which imports petroleum merchandise. Ukrainian legislation enforcement is investigating it for multimillion greenback tax evasion. The SBU is investigating it for the suspected import of Russian uncooked supplies.

Anti-corruption campaigner Serhiy Mytkalyk instructed RFE/RL that Komar might be in battle of curiosity, on condition that he heads a state physique that oversees taxes on power imports and exports.

“It is necessary to check all the decisions that [Komar] made in favor of this company,” he said. “Law enforcement officers can even check for illegal benefits.”

Komar instructed RFE/RL he had under no circumstances assisted VM Groupe or its proprietor.