The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has announced charges of illegal enrichment of UAH 15.7 million by the ex-deputy head of the President's Office, Andrii Smyrnov.
What is known about Smyrnov's suspicion of illegal enrichment
According to NABU investigators, from 2020 to 2022, Smyrnov owned assets worth 17.1 million hryvnias (appr. €396.4 thousand).
It is noted that the official's savings and official income for this period amounted to UAH 1.3 million (appr. €30.1 thousand).
The difference between the cost of the purchased property and Smyrnov's official income for this period amounted to UAH 15.7 million (€363.9 thousand).
It is emphasised that the former deputy head of the President's Office purchased two Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen cars, two Honda and BMW motorcycles, three parking spaces in Kyiv, an apartment in Lviv, and a land plot in Zakarpattia.
To hide the existing property, Smyrnov issued the vast majority of it to his brother, retaining the right to dispose of it in full.
At the same time, the official registered the Honda motorcycle to a friend then re-registered it to himself.
Smirnov is threatened with deprivation of liberty for five to ten years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years.
What is known about Smyrnov
Andriy Smyrnov graduated from the National University "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy" with a law degree and worked as a lawyer in the private sector from 2002 to 2006.
In 2006, Smyrnov started working in the civil service. Until 2012, he held the positions of head of the legal department of the State Committee on State Material Reserve, deputy director of the Department of Economic Support of the Security Service of Ukraine, head of the Department of Land Resources of Zaporizhzhia.
Since 2013, he has been engaged in legal and advocacy practice, and on September 10, 2019, he was appointed deputy head of the Office of the President.
At the end of March, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Andriy Smyrnov as the deputy head of the President's Office.
