Montavon has resigned from the water utility’s supervisory board: the mandatory declaration requirement posed risks to her family

Hanna Montavon is stepping down from the supervisory board of the municipal enterprise ‘Mykolaivvodokanal’. Screenshot from a video

Hanna Montavon, chair of the supervisory board of the municipal utility «Mykolaivvodokanal», has submitted her resignation. Among the reasons she cited were Ukraine’s disclosure requirements, which, she said, pose risks to her family’s privacy.

Anna Montavon wrote about this on her Facebook page.

Hanna Montavon submitted her resignation from the supervisory board of her own accord on 10 September. She was elected chair of the board in September 2025 for a one-year term. A new chair is due to be elected on 16 September, after which Anna Montavon plans to hand over her duties and step down.

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Hanna Montavon cited concerns over her family’s privacy and safety as the main reason for her resignation. According to her, Ukrainian disclosure requirements could lead to the disclosure of information about family members who have no connection to her work in Ukraine.

«Why am I stepping down now? There are several reasons. The first and most important is the privacy and safety of my family. Ukrainian legislation on asset declarations poses an unacceptable risk to me of private information being disclosed about family members who have absolutely no connection to my work in Ukraine. Furthermore, there is a legal conflict with EU legislation regarding the right to privacy, particularly that of young children. For me, this is a matter of principle,» wrote Hanna Montavon.

At the same time, Hanna Montavon noted that she had already submitted her declaration for 2025. She emphasised that she had not attempted to conceal her income or assets, but was no longer prepared to make her family’s privacy contingent on her work in Ukraine.

Hanna Montavon cited new international professional commitments as another reason. Due to a lack of time and trips to Asia and the US, she said she would no longer be able to fully fulfil her duties as a member of the supervisory board.

Hanna Montavon also stated that, after a year in the role, she had identified problems with the current system of corporate governance in the utilities sector.

«The third reason is that my experience over the first year has shown that the existing model of corporate governance in the utility sector requires further institutional refinement: a clearer process for the board to commence its work, transparent procedures for the appointment and resignation of board members, proper legal support, an ownership policy, liability insurance and a clear demarcation of roles between the owner, the Supervisory Board and management,» she wrote.

At the same time, Hanna Montavon stated that, over the course of a year, the supervisory board had managed to launch «important processes for the new management of the enterprise» and achieve initial results. Hanna Montavon did not specify exactly what these results were in her post.

How the «Mykolaivvodokanal» supervisory board was established

«Mykolaivvodokanal» became the first municipal enterprise in Mykolaiv to establish a supervisory board. The decision to set up supervisory boards at municipal enterprises was adopted in 2024 as part of corporate governance reform.

The supervisory board is responsible for overseeing the organisation’s strategic direction, approving key management decisions and financial plans, and assessing the performance of senior management. However, it must not interfere in the day-to-day operations of the organisation.

A competition for the positions of independent members of the «Mykolaivvodokanal» supervisory board was announced in January 2025, and on 29 May, members of the Mykolaiv City Council approved its composition.

The supervisory board comprises five people: Andrii Haidutskyi, Andrii Yefimov, Serhii Shkliar, Bjørn Kaare Jensen and Hanna Montavon. In September 2025, Hanna Montavon was elected chair of the supervisory board for a one-year term.

From a failed declaration to dismissal

It should be recalled that the issue of asset declarations by members of the «Mykolaivvodokanal» supervisory board had already sparked public controversy. In May 2026, the police opened criminal proceedings due to the failure of members of the company’s supervisory board to submit their declarations. At that time, the NACP register did not contain any asset declarations for Hanna Montavon or Bjørn Kaare Jensen. No one was notified of any suspicion within the framework of the proceedings.

Hanna Montavon explained at the time that she had not submitted a declaration on the advice of the mayor’s adviser, Yuliia Mincheva. Following the opening of the criminal proceedings, Hanna Montavon also approached the mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych, demanding that Yuliia Mincheva be removed from matters relating to corporate governance.

Yuliia Mincheva denied that she had advised Hanna Montavon not to submit a declaration. She explained to NikVesti that she had not given any such official or written recommendations. According to Yulia Mincheva, the informal conversation merely concerned the fact that, as far as she was aware, the declaration system did not have an English-language interface.

Meanwhile, Ihor Bloshko, the anti-corruption officer at «Mykolaivvodokanal», reported that he had officially reminded the members of the supervisory board twice of the need to submit their declarations. Once the deadline for submitting declarations had passed, Ihor Bloshko contacted the law enforcement authorities.

A separate meeting was also held for members of the supervisory board regarding the declaration process. At this meeting, the deadlines for submitting declarations and the consequences of breaching legal requirements were explained. Of the five board members, three attended the meeting. Hanna Montavon and Bjørn Kaare Jensen were not among them.

In July, Hanna Montavon stated that following the opening of criminal proceedings, she had been left «on her own» to deal with the situation and had been forced to hire lawyers herself. However, Hanna Montavon did not deny that, as a member of the supervisory board, she was required to submit a declaration.

At the same time, Hanna Montavon criticised the launch of supervisory boards in Mykolaiv in general, describing the process as «chaotic». As one example, she cited the supervisory board of the «Mykolaiv Development Agency», seven members of which had resigned before the end of their terms. Hanna Montavon claimed that people had not been warned in advance about the need to submit declarations.

Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych disagreed with this assessment. He told NikVesti that corporate governance reform in Mykolaiv is proceeding systematically, and described the problems encountered during its implementation as «operational issues».