SSU Office Administrator: Padalka failed to declare cottage worth $600 thousand - media. PHOTO
The head of the SSU's economic support department, Andrii Padalka, failed to declare a $600,000 house.
This is stated in the investigationby hromadske, Censor.NET reports.
The house where Andrii Padalka lives is located in the Green Hills cottage community in the suburbs of Kyiv: it has turnstiles, security, a British school and landscaping.
The area of the house reaches almost 300 square metres, a plot of 14 acres with a guest house for another 120 metres. The house also has its own gas boiler room, laundry room, garage for two cars, a large terrace, a spacious kitchen with premium appliances and wooden furniture. Three large bedrooms with bathrooms, spacious dressing rooms and a study on the ground floor. This is how the property is described in the advert for sale, which was obviously simply forgotten to be removed from the website.
But Padalka decided not to register this house in his name. According to hromadske, he is currently in a relationship with Olena Zelenska. The couple have a child together. Olena Zelenska has a mother, Larysa Pandei, and it is this woman who is registered as the owner of the house with a 10-hectare plot purchased on 26 October 2023.
The investigators did not find any business owned by Padalka's wife's mother, where she works and what she used to do is also unknown.
Larysa Pandei herself told journalists by phone that she was retired, but her "husband worked for a long time and had some income". "I had some money, I sold my apartment, borrowed some from my daughter, I had savings with my husband, we have a house in the same cottage community, so we bought another for them so that the children could live separately. I am retired, but my husband worked for a long time and had some income," she explained.
The SSU press service provided the following commentary on the investigation to hromadske:
"Employees of the Security Service of Ukraine comply with all financial control requirements stipulated by the current legislation, including the submission of declarations and other forms of reporting within the time limits established by the Law on Prevention of Corruption. Accordingly, SSU officer Padalka A.M. indicates in his declarations his wife Padalka O.S., who previously had the surname Zelenska, as well as their child and other data as provided for by Ukrainian law.
We would like to emphasize that the journalists of hromadske were informed about this in advance through a written response and personal communication with authorised SSU officers. However, despite this, they noted several times during the story that Padalka A.M. allegedly had no official family.
- Regarding the house in the village of Protsiv:
The house owned by A.M. Padalka is located in a garden association in the village of Protsiv, Boryspil district, Kyiv region, and is duly declared. Please note that A.M. Padalka acquired ownership of this house before his appointment to the SSU Economic Support Department. The house was put up for sale more than a year ago.
- About the house in the cottage community "Green Hills":
The house in the Green Hills cottage community in the Kyiv region near the village of Vita-Poshtova is not "registered" to the mother of Padalka's wife, A.M., but actually belongs to her. The family of Padalka's mother, O.S., has been engaged in business activities in the pharmaceutical sector for many years, including at the international level.
A.M. Padalka and his family started living in the house in the current year, so this property is not listed in the declaration for 2023, but the SSU officers must reflect information about the right to use real estate in their declaration in the year following the current year in accordance with the requirements of the Law of Ukraine "On Prevention of Corruption".
- Regarding the declarations of A.M. Padalka:
Padalka A.M. submits a declaration as a subject to the Law of Ukraine "On Prevention of Corruption" annually, starting from 2019, by filling in the form on the official website of the NAPC. In view of the full-scale invasion, the Law of Ukraine "On Prevention of Corruption" was amended in 2023. Thus, in accordance with clause 211, declarations submitted by the declaring entities are not publicly available, including if the relevant declarations were submitted before the start of military service or appointment to positions.
We would like to highlight the results of the work of A.M. Padalka as the Head of the Service's Economic Support Department.
- Changing approaches to organizing work, which resulted in transparent and more efficient use of budget funds and significant savings.
- The ESD resumed all procurement through the Prozorro system, which allowed it to purchase material and technical resources at prices lower than those in 2022 and save UAH 146 million from the expected cost of procurement (14% of the allocated budget funds).
- Specialized vehicles are procured directly from official importers also through Prozorro. The average cost of vehicles purchased by the SSU is 7-15% lower than similar items purchased by other security and law enforcement agencies. Estimated budget savings amount to over UAH 20 million.
- Currently, ESD purchases fuels and lubricants at an average of 20% below their market price. Thus, the cost of diesel and A95 petrol purchased is UAH 43.75 per litre in 2024 and UAH 41 per litre in 2023.
- In addition to current economic activities, the EDS focused on re-equipping the Service's units with the latest weapons in accordance with NATO standards.
- In early 2024, for the first time in its practice, the SSU independently initiated an audit of the financial and economic activities of its units by the State Audit Service. The audit revealed some shortcomings, and two former ESD officials were served with reasonable suspicion."
