Declarations of the former Ombudsman Denisova show signs of illegal enrichment amounting to 217 thousand euros

The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has stated that it found evidence of illegal enrichment amounting to nearly 10 million hryvnias (approximately 217,000 euros) and false declarations exceeding 32.4 million hryvnias (approximately 703,000 euros) involving former Ombudsperson Lyudmyla Denisova.

This information is mentioned in a statement by the NACP.

The anti-corruption agency does not mention the name of the person involved, but the positions referred to in the report match those held by Denisova during the specified years.

The NACP notes that in her 2022 declaration, Denisova inaccurately reported information amounting to 12.4 million hryvnias. Specifically, she claimed to have received a loan of 10 million hryvnias from a third party.

However, the “lender” admitted to the NACP that he was asked to issue a loan in his name and that he did not have funds of such an amount.

In the 2023 declaration, this financial obligation increased to 20 million hryvnias, according to the NACP.

Furthermore, during a full review of the 2023 declaration, the NACP noticed that Denisova received money from unverified sources to repay a loan to a bank, with the amount exceeding her legal income by 9.9 million hryvnias.

The NACP reported the evidence of false declarations and illegal enrichment to the National Police. Law enforcement authorities have initiated criminal proceedings.

Lyudmyla Denisova was born in 1960 in Arkhangelsk, in the north of Russia. Her first education was as a kindergarten teacher.

She then studied at the Faculty of Law at Leningrad State University with a specialization in “Jurisprudence,” and also at the Tavria Institute of Entrepreneurship and Law in the Faculty of Economics with a specialization in “Accounting and Auditing.”

From 1993 to 1998, she was the head of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

From July 1998 to July 2001, she held the position of Minister of Finance of Crimea and later headed the Crimean Department of the State Treasury of Ukraine.

She was a member of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea as an independent candidate and from the “Batkivshchyna” party.

During Yulia Tymoshenko’s premiership from 2007 to 2010, Denisova was the Minister of Labor and Social Policy of Ukraine. From February 27, 2014, she became the Minister of Social Policy in the government of Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

In March 2018, the parliament appointed Denisova, a member of the “People’s Front” party, as the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights. She held this position until May 2022.

As of the end of 2023, she was a member of the board of the Pension Fund.