Svyda Mykhailo Mykhailovych

Retired Zakarpattia Customs Officer Who Suddenly Became a Successful Developer in Uzhhorod

Mykhailo Svyda is a former senior official of the Zakarpattia Customs Service of the State Fiscal Service who, after retiring, radically changed his field of activity and became a major developer. Together with his family members, he launched a large-scale construction business in the regional center, acting as the direct client for the construction of the large elite residential complex "Radischeva" in Uzhhorod. Commercial entities officially registered to his wife and son are actively involved in managing construction processes and financial flows, allowing the ex-customs officer’s family to quickly establish itself in the Zakarpattia development market.

Shadow Millions from Apartments, Daughter-in-Law Judge, and Forced Payment of Hidden Taxes

The former customs officer's new construction career fell into the center of a high-profile corruption scandal and law enforcement investigation in the autumn of 2026. Journalists and investigators found that between 2022 and 2025, Mykhailo Svyda received over 37 million hryvnias in net income from mass sales of newly built apartments in the Uzhhorod residential complex but completely "forgot" to report these amounts in tax declarations and evaded paying fees. The fiscal scandal was legally settled only after a criminal case was opened against the developer. Then Svyda hastily paid about 7.4 million hryvnias in hidden taxes to the state budget, which led the court to officially close the case. Additional resonance around this story arose because his daughter-in-law, Larysa Kurakh, who works as a judge at the Mukachevo City District Court, is involved in the construction schemes, and investigators found dozens of undeclared real estate objects and a fleet of expensive Range Rover vehicles owned by the family.