Customs corruption scandal: employees struggle to justify their lavish lifestyles.

The State Customs Service of Ukraine has reported that there are no grounds for monitoring the lifestyle of customs officials involved in a scandal in the spring of 2024. This concerns Serafima Dumitru, Sofia Krikunova, and Anna Asanova. They are employees of the Chernivtsi, Odesa, and Kharkiv customs offices.

This information was reported by Slidstvo.Info. The publication sent a journalistic inquiry to the customs office.

"According to the Chernivtsi, Odesa, and Kharkiv customs offices, the specially authorized entity in the field of anti-corruption stated in letters that there are no grounds for monitoring the lifestyle of customs officials Dumitru S.L., Krikunova S.L., and Asanova A.V. within the framework of Article 51-4 of the Law of Ukraine 'On Prevention of Corruption,' taking into account the materials of the NGO Slidstvo.Info," as stated in the official response from the State Customs Service to the journalistic inquiry.

It is worth recalling that Serafima Dumitru, an employee of the Chernivtsi customs office, was unable to remember her salary during a conversation with journalists, claiming that "she has only recently started working and writes everything down on a piece of paper." Another official, Anna Asanova, is the chief state inspector of the customs control organization department at the Kharkiv customs office. The third official, Sofia Krikunova, works at the Odesa customs office.

What is known about them

Sofia Krikunova, who has been working at the Odesa customs since 2023, declared an annual salary of just over 34,000 UAH, but also mentioned a gift from her father amounting to 1.5 million UAH. Journalists note that her father has an official income of about 6,500 UAH.

Additionally, Krikunova owns two apartments in Odesa with a total value of around 9 million UAH and actively posts photos of her luxurious lifestyle on Instagram. She also shares images from exotic resorts, including the Dominican Republic and the Maldives, where hotel room prices can reach 31,000 UAH per night. It has also been discovered that the inspector has received fines for traffic violations, although no vehicles are listed in her declaration.

Serafima Dumitru holds the position of chief state inspector at the Chernivtsi customs office. Slidstvo.Info found it noteworthy that Dumitru has an empty declaration. In social media photos, she can also be seen with brand-name accessories and a Mercedes E-Class.

The inspector explained to journalists that she owns nothing, lives with her parents, and that the car is not registered in her name, nor are her residence or relatives. In social media photos, she is seen with brand-name accessories and a Mercedes E-Class. The inspector clarified to journalists that she possesses nothing of her own and resides with her parents, with the vehicle not registered in her name.

Anna Asanova is the chief state inspector of the customs control organization department at the Kharkiv customs office. Her salary was not indicated in her 2023 declaration. She also declared an apartment in a business-class residential complex in Kharkiv worth over 3.5 million UAH, which she became the owner of in the summer of 2021, even before her appointment to the customs position. She explained to journalists that the apartment was a gift.