"Detectives ... [of the] National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine conducted a pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings of May 26, 2017, into the fact of inaccurate declaration [of assets] and illegal enrichment by the minister of infrastructure of Ukraine," the judgment says.
The document reads that the minister and his family live in a house, which costs UAH 7 million (some US$263,000). The house belongs to his niece's cousin, while the niece in question, the State Fiscal Service says, had not received enough income to afford to acquire such real estate. According to NABU, Omelyan filed a declaration, claiming he resided in an apartment that belonged to his wife.
"At the same time, Person 3 [Volodymyr Omelyan] failed to indicate in his declaration for 2016 his right to use immovable property, namely the house ... The data filed in the declaration for 2016 differ from the actual information by UAH 7 million," the judgment says.
The NABU also believes that the minister failed to report a vehicle, BMW X5, worth UAH 1.6 million, which he uses and that belongs to his brother.
Read alsoPGO collecting evidence of wrongdoing by Infrastructure Minister Omelyan – media"As the detective pointed out, Person 3 [Volodymyr Omelyan] committed a criminal corruption-related offense, namely the acquisition by a person authorized to perform the functions of the state, of assets in a significant amount, with no evidence to confirm the legality of funds used to acquire them," the document says.
According to the court judgment, NABU also requested and was granted access to the communications data regarding the minister’s cell phone.
In response to the report, press secretary for the infrastructure ministry Maria Tomko wrote, "The Minister of Infrastructure is open to cooperation with law enforcement agencies, in particular, with the PGO, SBU, and NABU. He is ready to answer all questions of NABU detectives, as well as provide all documents confirming that there have been no violations on his part," she wrote.
