Wife of "Servant of people" Kaptielov works for Russian government agency and has apartment in Moscow - media
The wife of People's Deputy of the Servant of the People party Roman Kaptelov has Russian citizenship and works for a Russian state institution. The family of the People's Deputy has also owned an apartment in Moscow since 2015.
People`s Deputy from Servant of the People Roman Kaptielov did not indicate in his declaration the residence of his wife and children in Russia, nor did he declare their Moscow real estate and the income of his wife, a Russian citizen, from a state institution in Moscow.
This is stated in an investigation by Schemes journalists, Censor.NET reports.
A few years before he became a member of parliament, Kaptielov had the surname Migrin. He studied in Moscow, and in 2012, under this name, he published an article "The Blogosphere as a Tool for Youth Political Activism" in a collection of materials for a conference of Russian political scientists.
Also, while holding the position of director of the Inkerman Foundation, a charitable organisation established by the owners of the Crimean winery, he organised seminars "School of Active Citizenship" for young people in Sevastopol.
Migrin became Kaptielov in 2015 after he married his wife and took her surname. He was elected to the Verkhovna Rada from the Servant of the People party in the 36th electoral constituency, centred in Pavlohrad.
During his 5 years as a deputy, Kaptielov took the floor only 10 times, but mostly to pass it on to others.
On the airs of regional media, the "servant of the people" warned against rapprochement with the European Union, alleging that they do not check sources of income.
"The People's Deputy publicly called Ukraine a 'puppet of Europe'. And here the position of this "servant of the people" is close to the statements of Russian officials about external governance. ... People's Deputy Kaptielov also opposed the decolonization of the city of Pavlohrad. The name of the city - according to the conclusion of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory - belongs to the symbols of Russian imperial policy," the article says.
Wife's income in Russia
According to Schemes, the People's Deputy's wife, Yevhenia Kaptielova, had her own business in Ukraine, a toy rental business.
A year after the outbreak of the great war, she boasts in a video about completing a training course in Russia.
For example, Kaptielova left Ukraine a month before the full-scale invasion and went to Moscow.
On 22 January 2022, she flew from Zaporizhzhia to Istanbul, and from there to Moscow in the evening of the same day. There she met the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion.
One Russian website reports that Kaptielova provides services in Russia as a family nutritionist and psychosomatologist.
As Schemes has found out, last year the wife of a Ukrainian People's Deputy started working for a Russian state institution. This is evidenced by an extract from the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, which was obtained by Schemes.
In December 2023, Yevheniia Kaptielova received a salary at the state budgetary institution of culture in Moscow, which is called the "Association of Cultural Centers of the Southwestern Administrative District". In December of that year, she earned 52 thousand rubles, which is about 21 thousand hryvnias. However, neither this work nor the income from her online trainings for Russians was reflected by Roman Kaptelov in his declaration for 2023.
The journalists found that this Moscow-based institution actively cooperates with the Warrior organisation. This is an all-Russian centre for military and sports training of young people, created on behalf of Vladimir Putin with the aim of "raising a new generation of patriots and defenders of Russia".
For example, Kaptielova can be seen in the photo from October 2024.
In the first 9 months of this year, she earned more than 700,000 rubles, which is about 300,000 hryvnias, which, according to the law, must already be indicated as his wife's income in the upcoming 2024 declaration.
The photo from the social network shows Kaptelov's family of four. However, the People`s Deputy did not mention his minor children in his declaration, although this is required by anti-corruption legislation, even if the declarant does not live with children.
However, in his declaration, Kaptelov nevertheless indicated that his wife was a Russian citizen. His son also has a Russian passport, the journalists write. It was on this Russian passport that the minor son and his mother left Ukraine on the eve of the full-scale invasion.
Property in Moscow
"The Schemes established that the family of the 'servant of the people' has owned an apartment in Moscow since 2015, but this is not reported in the People's Deputy declarations.
This is an apartment of 100 square metres in a building on Leninsky Avenue. It is owned by 9 people who have equally distributed shares in this apartment. Among them are the deputie's wife, Yevheniia, her minor son and daughter, who own a third of the apartment in total. In addition, the owners include the deputie's mother-in-law and father-in-law.
The journalists assume that 100 square metres of such real estate can cost about UAH 17.5 million. Thus, the value of the share of the apartment owned by Kaptielov's wife and children, which is not mentioned in any of the "servant of the people's" declarations, is about UAH 6 million.
Kaptielov's trips abroad
After the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Kaptelova repeatedly flew from Russia to Turkey and back to Russia.
"Schemes" drew attention to a certain coincidence: the absence of the People's Deputy in the Rada during his wife's trips to Turkey.
"For example, when Yevheniia Kaptielova flew from Grozny (the capital of Chechnya, a region within the Russian Federation) to Istanbul from 5 to 9 July 2022, there were plenary sessions in the Verkhovna Rada during that period. However, according to the electronic system of the Verkhovna Rada, People's Deputy Kaptielov did not vote for the bills or was listed as "absent" on those days. According to Schemes' sources, the People's Deputy was abroad on those dates," the article says.
The journalists asked the Parliament's Secretariat to inform them whether the People's Deputy had registered business trips on all these days, but they did not provide information, noting that this data is limited under martial law.
What does Kaptielov say?
"As for my family, I have never concealed that my wife is a Russian citizen. Since the introduction of martial law, she has not been in Ukraine, due to legal and factual circumstances. My children do not have Ukrainian citizenship, and I legally do not have the official status of a father due to circumstances beyond my control.
As for the real estate in Moscow, which, according to your information, belongs to my wife, I do not have and have never had any information about her property rights. My wife's income subject to declaration has been included in the declaration and will be included next year in accordance with the current legislation," the People's Deputy said in a written response.
The journalists asked Kaptielov about his trips abroad, which coincided with his absence from the Rada during the vote and his wife's trips from Russia to Turkey, and this is what he said:
"These trips were made for official purposes and in connection with personal circumstances. All these trips were duly declared in accordance with the applicable law. My communication with my family was limited to a few meetings due to circumstances beyond my control. Since the introduction of martial law, I have not had a holiday or a rest."
The MP did not respond to requests to clarify the purpose of the business trips and provide copies of the relevant orders. When asked about the possible risks associated with his status and family's residence in Russia, Kaptelov eventually remarked:
"Issues related to my personal life are exclusively private and do not affect the performance of my duties as a Member of Parliament of Ukraine. In my activities, I am always guided by the interests of the state and act within the law."
