New housing in Spain during the war and ₴12 million in cash: NACP suspects Ochakiv Mayor of illegal enrichment

Mayor of Ochakiv Serhii Bychkov, archival photo of NikVesti

In 2022, Ochakiv Mayor Serhii Bychkov bought an apartment in Spain worth over 5 million hryvnias and received 12 million hryvnias as a gift from his mother.

This was announced by the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption after checking the mayor's declarations for 2021 and 2022, writes NikVesti.

NACP stated that the results of the inspections revealed signs of illegal enrichment and declaration of false information in the amount of more than 3 million hryvnias.

The apartment in Spain with an area of 122.31 square meters, which Serhii Bychkov bought together with his wife, cost more than 5 million hryvnias. He also allegedly received gifts in the form of cash worth more than 12 million hryvnias from his mother. Although, as noted in the NACP, these funds exceed the legal income of a wife, which since 1998 amounted to just over 580 thousand hryvnias.

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«The incomes of Mayor Ochakiv and his wife from confirmed sources also did not allow them to purchase an apartment in Spain with their own funds. Moreover, the official in the declaration, among other things, noted the growth of monetary assets by 2 million hryvnias in the reporting period, the legality of the sources of which he did not confirm during the inspection,» the agency emphasizes.

During the inspections, it was discovered that the mayor's wife received more than 300,000 hryvnias in her bank account from an individual entrepreneur who repeatedly performed work and provided services for the Ochakiv City Council. The funds were supposed to be used to buy a car for the city hall. However, it turned out that the woman spent the money on her own needs, in particular, on the purchase of clothes.

As a result, the NACP made conclusions under Article 368-5 (Illegal Enrichment) and Part 1 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code (Entering knowingly inaccurate information in the declaration), sending them for consideration by the National Police.

It should be noted that Serhii Bychkov's income declaration is still classified by the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption.

We will remind you that in April 2022, Mayor Serhii Bychkov did not allow journalists to work in the city, and the deputy mayor commented on it as follows: «You don't need to go here."

Although later, Ochakov's mayor's office explained Serhii Bychkov's absence in public space as his dislike for such communication and admitted that the media coverage did not save the community from shelling and occupation.

Bychkov's private behavior and the lack of reports on the results of his work were explained by the head of Mykolaiv RMA by the fact that he is a «non-public person».

How is the mayor of Ochakov related to the treason case of Eduard Shevchenko?

Eduard Shevchenko headed the department of the Ochakiv City Council responsible for security in the city and was the commander of the 73rd Naval Special Forces Center. During his detention in March 2023, the SSU reported, in particular, that he had tried to recruit Serhii Bychkov.

According to the case, in 2023, when Eduard Shevchenko was the head of the department of protection and surveillance of the housing and communal services department of the Ochakiv City Council, he received a task from Serhii Kolesnikov to recruit the mayor for a loyal relationship. In a direct conversation with Bychkov in the city council, Shevchenko said that representatives of the Russian Federation want to talk to the mayor.

«He is very careful. He proposed through me,» he told Kolesnikov at the time after communicating with the Ochakiv mayor.

Even after his arrest, Eduard Shevchenko said that he was surprised by the SSU release, which stated that he tried to recruit mayor Serhii Bychkov to work for the Russians.

The Deputy Chairman of the Public Control Council of the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine, Denys Zhelo, commented on the lack of claims by law enforcement officers against Ochakiv Mayor Serhii Bychkov, whose colleague was arrested for treason. According to Denys Zhelo, the mayor of Ochakov Serhii Bychkov «was friends in all directions with the Russian intelligence agent Eduard Shevchenko.»

Eduard Shevchenko himself noted that he considers Serhii Bychkov to be the most effective mayor of all those who were in Ochakiv.