In his 2024 declaration, acting head of the State Environmental Inspection Alexander Subbottenko reported a huge amount of currency, which greatly interested the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NAZK). The official's explanation was that he "found $653,000 in his grandmother's garage."
According to 368.media, this is evidenced by the full report on the verification of Subbottenko's 2024 declaration. At that time, the man still held the position of head of the sector for coordination and control of territorial and interregional territorial bodies of the State Environmental Inspection.
The official inherited the garage "with treasures" in the Kharkiv GBK "Progress" in 2021 after the death of his grandmother Berberian O.M. This is not the first time Subbottenko has voiced this version – it was recorded during a special audit of his 2022 declaration.
Unrealistically thrifty relatives
The official's grandmother and grandfather allegedly had the opportunity to earn such an amount, including abroad. This was the explanation provided by Subbottenko. He also emphasized the family's financial practice of converting hryvnia into dollars, which is what the grandmother did.
However, the NACP checked the employment history of the official's relatives and the agency's conclusion is categorical: they simply could not have accumulated such an amount.
The official's grandmother had the following official places of employment: technical secretary of the Kharkiv Regional Committee of the Leninist Communist Youth League, head of accounting at the V.I. Lenin Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute, head of accounting at the Kharkiv City District Committee of the Leninist Communist Youth League, and instructor in the accounting sector. The woman was dismissed from her last position in 1984. Subsequently, the relative was not an entrepreneur or a beneficiary of any legal entity.
Oleksandr Subbottenko did not provide any information about his grandfather's employment history. However, the relative, who died in 1989, allegedly traveled with his wife throughout the former USSR, where he had business relations.
How the couple, even theoretically carrying out some kind of activity, was able to accumulate currency is an open question. After all, until 1991, transactions involving dollars were a criminal offense.
Legalizing the "inheritance" did not work out
While checking the origin of the money, the NACP found the will of the DEI head's grandmother from 1992. "Unexpectedly," there is no information about any funds in the document. Of course, this was relevant at the time the will was drawn up. But on that date, the official's grandfather was no longer alive, so he and his grandmother "theoretically" had to earn capital before that, if we stick to Subbottenko's version.
The official tried to legalize the "inheritance" through the court. However, in February 2022, the Kominternovsky District Court of Kharkiv denied his request. Moreover, the court noted that this money could be considered treasure, and its acquisition is regulated by the Civil Code. The declarant did not take this into account, so he did not try to legalize the money as treasure, nor did he appeal the court's decision.
Regarding the fact that these funds belonged to Subbotenk's relative, the court's conclusion is unequivocal:
“At the same time, the court was not provided with any evidence of the existence of the funds specified by the plaintiff or evidence confirming that these funds belonged to his grandmother Berberyan O.S., who died on December 18, 2020.”
Other issues related to the declaration
The NACP also identified discrepancies regarding several real estate properties:
- an apartment in Kharkiv (area 65.2 sq. m, jointly owned in shares);
- an apartment in Kyiv;
- a garage in Kharkiv (area 32.1 sq. m, acquired in 2021);
- parking spaces in Kyiv.
Overall, Olexander Subbotenko's declaration revealed signs of inaccurate disclosure of information. This violation is criminal and falls under Part 2 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The official provided inaccurate information regarding UAH 26.7 million. The verification materials have not yet been submitted to anti-corruption bodies.
EcoPolitic previously prepared a piece for you about the biggest corruption scandals of 2025.
