Ukraine’s deputy attributed nonexistent bitcoins to himself

Oleg Bondarenko stated in his declaration that he owns 80 BTC, but could not confirm their existence

19.01.2022 - 10:50

158

1 min

What’s new? Ukraine’s deputy, Oleg Bondarenko of the “Servant of the People” party has declared ownership of 80 bitcoins but failed to document their existence, the “Slovo i Delo” portal reports. Bondarenko now faces a fine from the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC).

The “Slovo i Delo” material

What are the details of the incident? The NAPC conducted an audit of the deputy’s 2020 declarations. In his annual report, Oleg Bondarenko indicated that he owns 80 BTC. The NAPC stressed that the deputy refused to provide information on the purchase of cryptocurrency, and could not confirm its availability. The NAPC’s representative stated:

“The unreliable information specified in the declaration differs from the reliable ones in the amount of 69 938 732 Ukrainian hryvnias (UAH) [...] In the actions of the declaration subject, established signs of an offense under Part 2 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.”

How does Bondarenko comment on the situation? The deputy stated that he considers the National Agency’s decision to be erroneous:

“I believe that the NAPC misapplied the norms of the current legislation during the inspection and indicated unconfirmed data in the conclusion. I will challenge this conclusion. I did not conceal or distort anything, and the only reason for this situation is different approaches to assessing the value of a citizen’s assets.”

Author: