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Deputy head of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol Oleksandr Bozhko is participating in the competition for the position of Deputy Head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. His name has previously appeared in high-profile cases, including those involving former Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Andriy Portnov and Ternopil gunsmith Sviatoslav Zvir. StopCor analysts examined the prosecutor’s career, his asset declarations, and publications about the official’s activities.
According to StopCor’s analytical brief on candidates for the position of Deputy Head of the SAP, researchers found a number of circumstances that require additional explanation. These include inconsistencies between information about rented apartments and data from property registers, prior public accusations against the prosecutor, and his participation in the SAP competition in 2021.
Oleksandr Bozhko’s career: from Zhytomyr region to the Crimea prosecutor’s office
Oleksandr Serhiyovych Bozhko was born on 10 November 1988 in Bashtanka, Mykolaiv region. In 2011 he graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, after which he began his career in the prosecutor’s offices.
From 2012 he worked in various positions in the Prosecutor’s Office of Zhytomyr region, and in 2016 he moved to the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine.
In April 2020 Bozhko became acting Deputy Prosecutor of Ternopil region. Already in September of the same year he assumed the position of First Deputy Head of the Ternopil Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
In 2025 he was appointed Deputy Head of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. According to the analytical brief, he holds this position during the current SAP competition.
The Portnov case and the previous SAP competition
One of the most high-profile episodes of Bozhko’s professional activity was the case of Andriy Portnov, former Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration during Viktor Yanukovych’s tenure.
As StopCor analysts note, from 2019 Bozhko exercised procedural leadership in the proceeding related to Portnov.
Against the backdrop of this confrontation, the prosecutor reported threats. According to information cited in the analytical brief, his family was provided security. Later Bozhko filed a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights.
In 2021 the prosecutor already tried to pass the competition to the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, but was eliminated from the selection process.
At the time, media voiced the version that this decision could have been related to Portnov’s influence and his conflict with the prosecutor. At the same time, the analytical brief does not contain documentary confirmation of this version or an established causal link between the Portnov case and the competition outcome.
The case of gunsmith Sviatoslav Zvir: the court acquitted the volunteer
Another high-profile episode mentioned in the StopCor study concerns Ternopil gunsmith Sviatoslav Zvir, who helped the Defense Forces of Ukraine.
In 2025 Bozhko found himself at the center of a public scandal over the criminal prosecution of the volunteer. According to analysts, the case caused public resonance, and people familiar with his activity in support of Ukrainian servicemen voiced support for Zvir.
Ultimately, the court completely acquitted the gunsmith. In addition, the court initiated an appeal to the President of Ukraine to award Sviatoslav Zvir a state honor.
Analysts classified this episode as a risk factor in the candidate’s professional biography. At the same time, the brief does not cite a court decision establishing personal unlawful conduct by Bozhko during this proceeding.
Accusations regarding excise losses of 32 million UAH
The study also references a publication by the outlet “Politerno” from 2025 about a criminal proceeding concerning possible budget losses from tobacco excise taxes.
It concerned the sum of 32 million UAH and a case involving local entrepreneur Andriy Yarema.
According to the information presented in the analytical brief, the authors of the publication accused Bozhko of deliberately delaying or effectively blocking the investigation.
However, these claims remain accusations published in the media. The analysts’ materials do not contain confirmation that a court or competent authority established relevant violations on the part of the prosecutor.
Another episode concerns 2021, when bloggers publicly accused Bozhko of unfair distribution of official apartments among employees of the Ternopil Regional Prosecutor’s Office. The brief also contains no information about findings of violations following checks of these claims.
An apartment in Orange Park residential complex: an investment for 697 thousand hryvnias
A separate section of StopCor’s analytical brief is devoted to the prosecutor’s and his family’s real estate.
According to the declaration for 2025, on 2 September Bozhko invested in the construction of an apartment of 41 sq. m in the village of Kryukivshchyna, Kyiv region.
Analysts determined that this refers to the Orange Park residential complex. The object was identified by cadastral numbers and information about the developer company listed in the declaration.
The cost of the future apartment, as indicated by the prosecutor, is 697 thousand UAH. That is approximately 17 thousand UAH per square meter. The brief does not contain an independent appraisal of the market value of this object at the time of investment.
In addition, Bozhko declared a share in his wife’s apartment in Kyiv. This is housing with a total area of 84,7 sq. m, one-quarter of which has belonged to Kateryna Bozhko since 2005.
Thus, the candidate’s declaration reflects both property rights to housing in a new development near Kyiv and real estate owned by his wife.
Rented housing in Kyiv and Ternopil: what discrepancies analysts found
The two rented apartments raised the most questions during the analysis of the asset information.
On 28 August 2025 Oleksandr Bozhko, according to the declaration, received for use an apartment in Kyiv with an area of 46,6 sq. m.
Its owner is listed as Khrystyna Babkina. However, when checking property registers, StopCor analysts did not find any property in the capital owned by a person with the same surname, first name, and patronymic.
Instead, registers showed this person’s property only in Sumy region. Researchers also noted that the owner’s full name has a high uniqueness indicator – 99%.
In the declaration the prosecutor indicated the apartment’s value at 320 thousand UAH, but did not specify the amount of the rent.
The other situation concerns Ternopil, where Bozhko’s family rented an apartment while he worked in the regional prosecutor’s office.
The area of that dwelling was 73 sq. m, and the owner was listed as Nataliya Kravets.
According to analysts’ checks, as of October 2026 this person owned three apartments in Ternopil with areas of 54,6, 43,7 and 44,9 sq. m. The apartment with area 73 sq. m was not found among the registered objects.
The brief also notes that other law enforcement officers who were not prosecutors previously rented housing from this owner.
Bozhko’s income: 1,9 million UAH in salary and relocation compensation
In 2025 Oleksandr Bozhko declared approximately 1,9 million UAH in salary.
Of that amount, about 1,2 million UAH he received at the Ternopil Regional Prosecutor’s Office, and another 700 thousand UAH at the Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.
Additionally, the prosecutor was paid 143 thousand UAH as compensation related to relocation to the new place of work.
The official’s wife declared 25 thousand UAH in social child benefits.
At the same time, the family’s cash savings declared were comparatively modest. The spouses listed 20 thousand UAH, 200 US dollars and 150 euros.
Therefore, the family’s total declared receipts for 2025 amounted to more than 2 million UAH, taking into account the prosecutor’s salary, relocation compensation and social payments.
At the same time, in September of the same year Bozhko declared an investment in the construction of an apartment for 697 thousand UAH.
What is known about the prosecutor’s wife’s property and professional activity
The candidate’s wife, Kateryna Bozhko, née Burlachenko, previously also worked in the prosecutor’s offices.
According to analysts, at least since 2015 she held a position at Kyiv Local Prosecutor’s Office No. 3. She was dismissed on 9 August 2017, after which she ceased to be subject to public declaration.
Later Kateryna Bozhko changed professional direction. In February 2025 she completed a master’s program at the Kyiv Institute of Gestalt and Psychodrama and works in the field of psychology.
Researchers also found information about her prior entrepreneurial activity. Preliminary data indicate that in 2019 she registered as a sole proprietor (FOP), with the main activity being work with textile products. In 2021 she terminated the entrepreneurial activity.
In addition to a share in the Kyiv apartment, the prosecutor’s wife owns a Ravon R2 Elegant AT car, year of manufacture 2020, purchased in 2022.
According to the estimate cited in the analytical brief, the average value of such a car at the time of the study was about 6,5 thousand US dollars.
This is the only car listed in the Bozhko family’s declaration.
One more detail concerns a trademark. According to analysts, in 2020 a person with the same surname, first name and patronymic registered trademark No. 273028 related to goods and services in the manufacture and sale of clothing.
Relatives’ real estate and use of family apartments
StopCor’s study also analyzed the real estate of the prosecutor’s wife’s relatives.
In particular, it concerns an apartment in Kyiv with an area of 56,7 sq. m that the Bozhko family previously used.
In older declarations Kateryna Bozhko indicated that the housing was in joint partial ownership of three persons. One-third of the apartment belonged to Kateryna herself, one-third to her mother Oksana Burlachenko and one-third to Illia Burlachenko, whom analysts identified as the probable brother of the prosecutor’s wife.
According to the study, Oksana Burlachenko previously engaged in entrepreneurial activity in the field of rental and operation of real estate. She registered the corresponding FOP in 2008 and terminated activities in 2018.
Analysts also investigated information about Kateryna Bozhko’s father, but due to the large number of people with the same surname, first name and patronymic they could not reliably identify him from open registers.
Therefore, researchers do not link information about a person with the same name to the prosecutor’s family in relation to possible involvement in criminal proceedings.
Publications about political views: analysts found no confirmations
Some local media previously spread claims about alleged pro-Russian views of Oleksandr Bozhko and possible ties of his father to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.
However, StopCor analysts treated these reports critically.
The brief explicitly states that such publications show signs of targeted discrediting of the official and do not contain proper evidence.
Researchers also noted that there is practically no verified information in the public domain about the prosecutor’s parents and other relatives.
The analytical brief does not contain explanations from Oleksandr Bozhko himself regarding the identified discrepancies in asset information. Nor does it include results of official checks that would confirm violations by him.
Earlier StopCor reported on other candidates for the position of Deputy Head of the SAP, about whom anti-corruption activists raised questions regarding property, income and professional activity.
The editorial team also examined the biography of Sviatoslav Onishchuk, who is participating in the competition after a negative expert opinion from the Constitutional Court regarding compliance with the criterion of high moral qualities.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Квартира за 697 тис. грн, розбіжності в деклараціях і резонансні справи: що з’ясували аналітики СтопКору про Олександра Божка". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: NARDEP 24.
