Media uncover cars and real estate registered to relatives of NABU department head
Maksym Romaniuk, head of one of the departments of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), was found by journalists to have cars and real estate registered to his relatives. The detective himself acquired an apartment through a preferential housing program. This was reported in a journalistic investigation by Informator.ua.
"Cars. First, there was a Mercedes-Benz E 220 CDI, which belonged to the detective’s mother-in-law, Nataliya Podchynok. In 2022, the Mercedes disappeared from the declaration and was replaced by an Audi A6, which already belonged to his father, Oleksandr Romaniuk. Real estate. An apartment in Irpin, Kyiv region. Registered to his mother, Vira. Another achievement of the corruption fighter during the height of the war is a plot of land in Bucha, Kyiv region, measuring 1320 m&³2;, and an unfinished (allegedly) house of 219 m&³2;. Both the house and the land are also registered to his mother, Vera Romaniuk,” the investigation authors wrote.
In the 2024 declaration, the publication noted that Romaniuk listed an apartment of 117.4 m&³2; directly owned by him, purchased through a preferential state program, as emphasized in the article.
"The apartment was bought on mortgage under the 'yeOselya' program. This program includes a limited list of people who can use it. Since August 2023, this list also includes NABU detectives, who were thereby equated with members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine fighting against Russia,” the authors of the investigation emphasized.
They noted that one of the most well-known cases led by Romaniuk at NABU was "Rotterdam Plus."
"Since Romaniuk took on the case, the Bureau has been repeatedly accused of delays and ultimately of ‘burying’ the case. The last mention of it was dated November 8 of last year, when the High Anti-Corruption Court refused to close it. The longer Romaniuk kept the ‘Rotterdam Plus’ case on hold, the wealthier he became," they wrote.