Odesa judge “legalized” $250,000 under the guise of a loan

Odesa judge “legalized” $250,000 under the guise of a loan

The judge of the Artsyzskyi District Court of Odesa Region, Olha Krutova, declared a loan of $250,000 to a third party, although she did not have such funds.

This is stated in the conclusion of the Public Council of Virtue.

In her 2015 declaration, the judge indicated that she had loaned a significant amount of $250,000 to a third party. The origin of these funds requires clarification from the judge, since, according to the dossier, her income from 2005 to 2015 did not allow her to accumulate this amount. There is no information about this loan in any subsequent declarations, but the judge declared minimal savings, which indicates that either the loan was not repaid or the funds received back were not reflected in the declarations. During an interview with the High Qualification Commission of Judges, Krutova explained that this money was given to her by her ex-husband to buy an apartment. However, in the declaration, they are reflected as a loan to third parties, so this statement is questionable.

According to the judge’s declarations for 2012-2016, she did not own or use any real estate that could be used for living. From the judge’s explanations during the interview with the High Qualification Commission of Judges in 2019, it became clear that she had the right to use the housing, but she did not declare it.

According to the declaration for 2017 (and all subsequent ones), the judge lived or had the right to live in the apartment of Praskovya Krutova. Krutova is the mother of the judge’s ex-husband, whom she remarried 4 years after their divorce. The type of right of use indicated in the declarations from 2017 to 2019 was "the property is owned by a third party" (in fact, we are talking about free use), in 2020 the declaration noted that the apartment was used on a leasehold basis, and from 2021 onwards, free use was discussed again.

The judge noted that she had lived in her mother-in-law’s apartment for about 20 years. However, it follows from the declarations that she had not declared the use of this real estate until 2017. During the entire period of her divorce from her husband Y.P. Krutov (from 2011 to 2021, when the spouses remarried), the judge used her mother-in-law’s apartment and her husband’s car. This may indicate that the spouses continued to live in a civil marriage from 2011 to 2021.

In addition, in 2018, the judge declared the right to use a Land Rover Freelander, which belonged to Yuriy Krutov (husband until 2011 and after 2021). The type of right of use is “the property is owned by a third party” (in 2019, the right ceased and was no longer mentioned in the declaration). In 2017, the judge declared the same right to a Volkswagen Touareg, which was owned by Mykola Polikarpov (in 2018, the right ceased and, in any case, was no longer mentioned in the declaration). According to the judge’s declaration for 2015, she purchased a Volvo XC90 (2013) in 2013 for 519 thousand hryvnia, but this car is not listed in the paper declarations for 2013-2015.

It should also be noted that both Y.P. Krutov and M. Polikarpov were not close persons of the judge in 2017 and 2018 within the meaning of the Law on the Prevention of Corruption.

In addition, as the judge noted, she permanently resided in the city of Odesa, worked in the Artsyz District Court of the Odesa Region, covering a distance of 135 km daily from her home to her place of work (the judge did not declare any housing up to and including 2016).