The suspect in false declaration of a "Servant of the People" member described how he avoided prison

The suspect in a false declaration of a "Servant of the People" member described how he avoided prison

Member of Parliament from the "Servant of the People" party Volodymyr Hevko, whom the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) released from responsibility for undeclared property worth 3,7 million hryvnias after he repented, spoke to the media about the details of his case.

"I simply told everything that happened, how the declaration was filled out and why this apartment did not get into it. I viewed it as official housing, for which the Verkhovna Rada compensates me so that I may exercise my deputy powers. Before that, I was living in a hotel" Ukraine" and I also did not declare it - there were no complaints from the NACP. When I moved along the same street where the hotel is located to an apartment, I filled out the declaration, did not attach significance to it, I believed that this information is public knowledge, the lease agreement is in the Verkhovna Rada. Every month I paid for this apartment from my personal card. So there was no concealment of information. Moreover, the Verkhovna Rada publishes on its website every month whom it compensates for housing in Kyiv," Hevko said.

The deputy said there is no other housing in Kyiv.

"So there was no intention or intent to hide anything on my part. There were many publications in the media that I receive compensation. I explained in comments why I receive it. Someone wrote that, well, you are deputies. Everyone is used to it." , that once all deputies were millionaires, so there is no point in compensating them at all, so I also explained that by law I am entitled to this compensation because I do not have an apartment in Kyiv, and I need to come to sessions of the Rada. This is open and accessible information for everyone," the deputy said.

According to his words, he admitted his fault before the court.

"I said that, yes, I made a mistake. It was necessary to include this apartment in that column, but it was simply a mistake, which... I am not a lawyer, I am an economist, we are all living people, we make mistakes, we are not robots. After the NAZK checked the declaration and opened access to modify the declaration for me, I immediately added this apartment. It was 31 December 2021 of the year, and I had already added this apartment to the declaration. A million. This is an overall estimate of the cost. As it turned out later, the apartment owners themselves do not know the value of the apartment, because this apartment was donated to the granddaughter by grandmother sometime. There is no attitude on my part towards this amount in 3,7 million at all," said Volodymyr Hevko.