Oleksii Kucher: holding multiple positions, 7 million UAH, and an old NACP scandal

The head of the State Regulatory Service of Ukraine, Oleksii Kucher, for almost a year simultaneously led a central executive body and the supervisory board of the state enterprise “Lisy Ukrainy” (Forests of Ukraine): the Cabinet of Ministers approved him as the state's representative in January 2025, he was elected chair of the board in April 2, and in February 2026 he left its membership. This simultaneous holding of positions became the subject of legal claims in a ZN.UA publication due to provisions of the Constitution and anti-corruption legislation.

On 21 January 2025 the government approved Kucher's candidacy as the state's representative on the supervisory board of “Lisy Ukrainy.” The board also included three independent members — representatives of Canada, Latvia, and Finland. On 2 April the board at its first meeting elected Kucher as chair. At the same time he joined the audit committee and the appointments and remuneration committee, media report. In February 2026 Kucher ceased his work on the supervisory board. SE “Lisy Ukrainy” announced his departure on 24 February, calling his work instrumental in launching corporate governance processes. The notice did not state the reason for the termination of his powers. Questions about the dual role arose because of part one of Article 120 of the Constitution, which prohibits heads of central executive bodies from serving on governing bodies or supervisory boards of enterprises or organizations whose purpose is to generate profit. ZN.UA also cites clause 2 of part one of Article 25 of the Law “On Prevention of Corruption,” which contains a similar restriction for persons authorized to perform state functions.However, Kucher served on the board specifically as the state's representative. The government decision appointing him explicitly defined that status. At the same time ZN.UA asserts that the status of state representative itself does not remove the constitutional prohibition, and that a competent authority or court must give the final legal assessment of these circumstances. There is no public decision from the NACP establishing Kucher’s violation in this episode in the materials cited.A separate issue is payments to supervisory board members. According to the ZN.UA investigation, during the board’s work its members were accrued and paid nearly 7 million UAH. The outlet links these payments to the fact that at the start of operations the board consisted of four people, whereas the relevant regulations provide for at least five members. These circumstances became the basis for a pre-trial investigation on signs of embezzlement of property on an especially large scale.Kucher himself, according to “Lisy Ukrainy,” did not receive remuneration for participating on the supervisory board. At the same time three independent board members worked under contracts with prescribed remuneration. Thus, the sum of nearly 7 million UAH relates to payments to board members overall, not to the personal income of the chair of the board.The supervisory board episode was not the first public question raised about Kucher. In 2021 the NACP reported the results of a full check of his declarations for 2019 and 2020. The agency said the official declared Bitcoin valued at 13,1 million UAH but could not provide documents confirming ownership of the cryptocurrency.According to the NACP, Kucher also did not provide a public Bitcoin address that could confirm ownership of the cryptocurrency. The agency noted that the combined income of Kucher and his family members for 2001–2020, according to tax data, amounted to 880 682,56 UAH. The NACP qualified the submission of false information as a possible criminal offense and issued the Cabinet of Ministers a prescription to conduct an internal investigation and impose disciplinary responsibility.In October 2021 the NACP again summoned Kucher to provide explanations regarding the declared bitcoins. The agency said it had invited him several times. At the same time, the NACP’s statement of false information is not a court verdict, and the agency’s public materials contain no information about any punishment of Kucher in this episode.

As of 2026 Kucher continues to head the State Regulatory Service, while his powers on the supervisory board of “Lisy Ukrainy” have ended. Questions about the legality of the almost year-long dual holding of positions, payments to the supervisory board, and the prior declaration history remain at different legal stages: some are subjects of journalistic and legal debate, some are under pre-trial investigation, and establishing responsibility for possible violations requires decisions by competent authorities.