The National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NABU) has initiated a lifestyle monitoring of Yuriy Sobolevskyi, the first deputy head and a deputy of the Kherson Regional Council from the “Servant of the People” party. The reason for this audit is a journalistic investigation that highlights a significant increase in the official’s wealth over the year — more than 3.5 million hryvnias, mostly in the form of cash in foreign currency, declared without explanation of its origin.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Suspicions Regarding Discrepancies Between Income and Lifestyle
Journalists have noted numerous facts that raise questions about the compliance of the official income of the Sobolevskyi family with their lifestyle. Social media posts document foreign trips as well as the use of a premium 2020 Volkswagen Touareg, which, according to the investigation, is used by Sobolevskyi’s wife and daughter. This car, valued at two million hryvnias, was purchased by his father-in-law, Andriy Borysenko, a pensioner whose declared income does not justify such a purchase. Sobolevskyi confirmed that part of the funds for the car was provided by him and his wife; however, the vehicle was not included in the declaration.
In response to a journalistic inquiry, NABU stated:
“Based on the preliminary review of the letter, the mentioned information will be taken into account during the lifestyle monitoring of Yuriy Sobolevskyi.”
According to the investigation, in 2019, Yuriy Sobolevskyi acquired cash — $50,000, €40,000, and nearly 1 million hryvnias. That same year, the official invested in an apartment in Kyiv, although his wife’s previous declaration, when she was still a civil servant, did not record such savings.
Family Responses to Financial Questions
In a comment to journalists, Sobolevskyi’s wife stated that her husband “has been a lawyer all his life” and had savings; however, she could not explain why they were not listed in the 2018 declaration. Sobolevskyi himself provided a similar response, emphasizing that he worked as a lawyer and a legal advisor, and that additional income should be legitimate:
“Lawyers do not live solely on their salary. And if the company allows taking on additional clients, that is not a problem. (…) It will be difficult now to account for every penny earned.”
When asked why his wife did not declare an additional three and a half million hryvnias, the official suggested that she might have filled out the report incorrectly.
According to the investigation materials, the Volkswagen Touareg is not registered in Sobolevskyi’s declaration. The official’s father-in-law explained that he “saved for the vehicle all his life” and also received help from his children. However, data on the vehicle’s usage indicates that it is primarily driven by Sobolevskyi’s wife, who even received a fine for a traffic violation in Kyiv in 2024.
The Sobolevskyi family left the country in March 2022 in this vehicle and returned in August 2023, having lived during that time in the German city of Augsburg. The official’s declaration lacks information about renting or using housing abroad for free, although on social media, their daughter Anastasia actively posted photos and videos from travels in France, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Turkey during 2022–2025.
Yuriy Sobolevskyi explained that in 2022, he was “not at all focused on this” (referring to declarations), and the family, according to him, was changing their addresses.
In 2020, Sobolevskyi became a deputy of the Kherson Regional Council from “Servant of the People” and was appointed first deputy head. His wife and daughter later became assistants to members of parliament from the same political force.