The family of the court head Holovachov "amassed" assets worth only three million dollars

The family of the court head Holovachov "amassed" assets worth only three million dollars

«French Quarter» — one of the most elite and expensive residential complexes in Kyiv. It was here that in 2020, immediately after graduating from school, Myron Holovachov acquired a 100 square meter apartment. Such an apartment costs at least 300 thousand dollars, and Myron received it as a gift from his grandfather.

Why were journalists from hromadske interested? It’s simple: Myron is the son of the head of the Kyiv Court of Appeal. And this is precisely where our journey through the numerous properties of the Holovachov family begins because this apartment is the least of what the magazine’s journalists managed to find.

Eternal Judge

For almost 10 years, the Kyiv Court of Appeal, one of the most important institutions of justice in the capital, has been headed by the same person — Yaroslav Holovachov. Such long-standing work success can only be boasted perhaps by the head of the infamous Pechersk District Court, Ruslan Kozlov.

According to the law, heading a court of the first or second instance can be no more than six years, meaning two terms of three years each. However, various tricks allow these two to bypass the norms of the law, which they theoretically should protect.

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The last of the two possible terms for holding the position of head of the Court of Appeal for Yaroslav Holovachov ended back in 2021. However, the man had no intention of leaving his post. On September 6, 2024, Holovachov’s third term, no longer provided for by law, ended. Currently, the fourth term is ongoing. Of the possible two.

«This is a standard scheme for court presidents and judges of the old judicial corporation. What is called the judicial mafia. Leaving court presidents permanently in office. This is power, it’s money, it’s influence, it’s also the court’s connection to political power, and it’s a political channel through which the authorities most often command judges. There are several schemes: either just generally ignoring the law (this happens less often), or it often happens that a judge voluntarily resigns from the position of court president a month before the term expires, then someone else performs duties, or even assistants... Then a month later the powers are removed, and this judge again becomes the head of the court. It’s widespread throughout the country. This is an unethical practice, an obvious violation of the law», — explains the head of the board of «The DEJURE Foundation» Mykhaylo Zhernakov.

Meanwhile, during his fourth term, Holovachov actively continues his activities as president. In October 2024, he blocks the review by the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court of Appeals regarding the preventive measure of the notorious head of the Khmelnytskyi MSEC Tetyana Krupa, who is suspected of illicit enrichment. In November, he makes work visits to Germany. In December, he participates in the events of the Supreme Council of Justice on matters of judicial effectiveness.

Chairman of the board of «The DEJURE Foundation» Mykhaylo Zhernakov 

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It can be assumed that Holovachov is indeed an irreplaceable leader and a brilliant manager, but no. In 2020, the Accounting Chamber conducted an audit at the Court of Appeal. They analyzed the court’s work for 2018-2019. They found a number of serious violations and deficiencies in the court’s financial and economic activities. In particular, the inefficient use of almost 2 million hryvnias for the acquisition of means that were never put into operation for a long time, and problems with maintaining accounting records. Also, the court planned over 11 million hryvnias of unjustified expenses.

Furthermore, more than 6 million hryvnias were spent on repairing and maintaining premises that were not even on the institution’s balance sheet and lacked the necessary documentation. The report also noted that the court premises did not meet the basic requirements of legislation and state construction norms. This includes the arrangement of courtrooms, deliberation rooms, rooms for trial participants and witnesses, in particular.

But despite the fact that not everything is smooth in the court, no one wants to leave their favorite job. Especially when, over 25 years in various court positions with state salaries, you managed to acquire an entire real estate empire.

Million-dollar gifts and mysterious wealth

March 2024. Petropavlivska Borshchahivka. 10 acres of valuable land near the capital become the property of Anastasiya Holovachova — the wife of the court president. The land was gifted by her mother. According to the registry, the plot is estimated at 16.3 million hryvnias. Anastasiya currently has no business. The notary certificate she allegedly worked with has been invalid since March 2021.

In his declaration for 2023, the court president reported almost one and a half million hryvnias and another 120 thousand dollars in family savings. When all this money is converted into hryvnias at the exchange rate of that time, it comes to a little over 6 million hryvnias. The salary of the court president is also very decent — over 3 million UAH per year. There are also incomes from securities and property alienation.

Besides this, the Holovachov family owns several other plots scattered around the Kyiv suburbs: 45 acres in the village of Buky for farming, 10 acres in Shevchenkove for construction. Another 8 acres are in Hnidyn for gardening. And this is just under the wife’s ownership. Yaroslav himself owns another 8-acre plot in Hnidyn and another 25-acre plot in the village of Fenevychi for construction.

Free and loving gifts from the father- and mother-in-law

«Novopecherski Lypky». The Holovachov family has a total of 118 square meters here. An apartment of this size without renovation in this building currently costs 12.5 million hryvnias — about 300 thousand dollars. The residence belongs to Serhiy Rybchenko — Holovachov’s father-in-law. The three-room apartment purchased in 2013, in terms of dollar value did not differ much. From $3500 to $4500 per square meter. Another elite residential complex «Central Park». In this one — another 120 square meter apartment, purchased in 2019. A property of the same area is offered on the real estate website for 650 thousand dollars, or over 27 million UAH. At the time of purchase without repair, this apartment cost at least 120 thousand dollars.

But what does the father-in-law have to do with it? It’s simple. It is in this apartment, according to the declaration of the head of the Court of Appeal Holovachov, that his entire family is registered on the terms of free use.

By the way, the father-in-law was a deputy of the Kyiv-Sviatoshyn district council, elected in 2015 from the "Eurosolidarity" party. In his last declaration for 2020, he reported just under a million hryvnias in business income for the year, as well as 100,000 in pension. Not a small amount, but is it enough for all the aforementioned property? But the mother-in-law, Lileya Kernychna, is not lagging behind either. She has been running businesses for many years—flower trading and construction, with the rest, including private entrepreneurship, somehow related to renting real estate. In the same 2020, the total official income from all businesses was 920 thousand hryvnias. Approximately 70 thousand per month.

Kernychna, like her husband, willingly transfers her assets for her children’s use. The judge’s family found it too crowded in the luxurious city apartments, and by September 2022, the Holovachovs had moved to her 220-square-meter estate with a plot of 12 acres in the suburb of Kyiv, the village of Severynivka. The sales department told us that a bare box costs from 80 thousand dollars, but depending on the location and finishing, the price can reach up to 700 thousand dollars.

Similarly, the Holovachov family freely uses the mother-in-law’s 47-square-meter apartment in the same "French Quarter," where the grandfather on the father’s side gifted a property to his grandson Myron, which we mentioned at the beginning of this story. Also, the judge uses a parking space there.

The "French Quarter" is beloved not only by the father-in-law and mother-in-law. The head judge’s father simultaneously purchased another apartment and two garages here with his in-laws. You may wonder, why does a family with one declared car, belonging to the grandfather, need three parking spaces? It’s because the Holovachov family also has a passion for luxury cars.

Car Fleet

For example, a BMW X5. In 2023, it belonged to his wife Anastasiya. In April 2023, she was involved in an accident while driving. By December, she was selling it for nearly 37,000 dollars. According to the registers, the 70-year-old mother-in-law of the head judge now drives a 2019 Audi Q8. Such a car typically costs over 60,000 dollars. The 73-year-old father-in-law, aside from the mentioned "Mercedes," owns a standard Fiat Doblo 2020. The 78-year-old father of Holovachov purchased a 2016 Mercedes-Benz Citan in 2024 for about 10,000 dollars and a 2017 Volkswagen Transporter for 20,000 dollars. As for Holovachov himself, he doesn’t own any cars.

Of course, we wanted to ask Yaroslav Holovachov himself how he manages to circumvent the rules, remaining in office for decades. However, we received no response from any of the numbers of the head of the Kyiv Court of Appeal.

If we calculate all the real estate of the Holovachov family, which includes his wife Anastasiya, sons Myron and Myroslav, mother-in-law, father-in-law, and the head judge’s father, they currently own 6 apartments, 5 garages (all in the central part of the capital, mostly in the most expensive Pechersk district), 15 land plots scattered around the outskirts of Kyiv with a total area of almost 2 hectares, and another 2 houses. Based on our most conservative estimates, the total value of all real estate assets as of today is 3 million dollars.