General-businessman: how police officer Yevhen Koval combined epaulettes with resorts and offshore wallets

Yevhen Koval — one of the most prominent figures in the National Police in recent years: former head of the criminal police, leader of the investigative and operational group in the Pavlo Sheremet case, First Deputy Head of the National Police (2019–2021), then suddenly dismissed «for political reasons», and in 2025, he just as suddenly returned to the system.

According to his public biography — declarations with significant savings, a family «resort» asset in the Carpathians, hectares and palaces on the banks of the Dnipro, material incentives «for household needs» from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and persistent stories about the influence of the «old team». All of this — not a verdict, but a set of facts and signs that require answers.

Career and «Sheremet Case»: the start of high visibility

Koval was born in 1979 and rose to the position of First Deputy Head of the National Police: in September 2019, he headed the criminal police, becoming the de facto «operational number one» of the agency. It was he who publicly presented interim results of the investigation into the murder of Pavlo Sheremet and led the corresponding group. This group, as we remember, «pinned» the murder on volunteers and Armed Forces soldiers who were completely uninvolved.

In September 2021, Koval was dismissed with a wording he himself called political — before that, he submitted a «declaration before dismissal». This dismissal had nothing to do with the «Sheremet case» – for the «fabrication» in it, not only Koval but absolutely no one suffered. Not at all.

Why is this mention so important? Because the «Sheremet case» became a litmus test for trust in the police. The head of the investigative group in such a case should be «more transparent than glass». However, around Koval, even back then, publications were accumulating about the discrepancy between family assets and official income, as well as far-from-secular connections with former law enforcement officers who oversaw economic units.

Family money: «Carpathian Resort», hectares, and expensive apartments

As early as 2019, investigators from «Slidstvo.Info» discovered a large land mass in Zakarpattia owned by Koval’s father — about two dozen plots with a total area of over eight hectares and a value of about 30 million hryvnias at the time. Journalists noted that the legality of the assets’ origin and the transparency of the business raised questions. At the same time, the family showed interest in the hotel business and real estate in Kyiv. These points were repeatedly highlighted in subsequent publications.

In 2020, the media drew attention to the elite car fleet of Koval’s entourage and «wealthy relatives», comparing this to his public position. Koval’s own declarations — available in the public domain — show significant cash savings and apartments in the capital; a set of documents in the NACP registry confirms both annual declarations and a special «pre-dismissal» declaration in August 2021.

In the public NACP database, Koval’s submitted declarations (for 2020, 2021, «before dismissal», etc.) are recorded; there are also entries about registered objects and financial transactions. They do not prove illegality of origin but raise direct questions about the correlation between official income, family business, and savings.

In April 2021, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, under the leadership of Arsen Avakov, allocated «material assistance for resolving household issues» to a narrow circle of National Police leaders. Among the recipients — First Deputy to Ihor Klymenko, Yevhen Koval, who received 111,000 hryvnias.

Formally, the assistance is legal; the question lies in the criteria for «being chosen». Against the backdrop of modest salaries for rank-and-file police officers and chronic infrastructure problems, such payment decisions look like a public demonstration of an internal departmental «elite caste».

Return in 2025: «Second Coming» and old shadows

In the summer of 2025, Bihus.Info reported that Yevhen Koval had returned to work in the National Police. Their report mentioned past questions about family assets and «Carpathian projects». The return occurred without public explanation as to why the «politically motivated» dismissal of 2021 is no longer an obstacle to service. Koval himself also remains silent on the matter. Although, undoubtedly, it is interesting how the «political motives» have changed in a situation of unchanged power.

Amid the revision of influences in law enforcement and tax authorities in 2024–2025, some media and public figures put forward versions about the influence of the «old economic team» of the National Police on shadow markets (alcohol, tobacco, excise taxes) — pointing, among others, to the names of former heads of the Department of Economic Protection and generals close to them.

In publications about personnel reshuffles in the Ministry of Internal Affairs from 2019–2021, names of people associated with the Department of Economic Protection (DEP) regularly surface. In several materials, Yevhen Koval is mentioned as close to the former head of DEP, Ihor Kupranets; some texts describe the «post-service» business trajectories of Kupranets’ entourage. These works are journalistic, not judicial; nevertheless, they outline a possible contour of informal influence where law enforcement competencies transform into property gains.

Some media in 2025 published detailed materials about «millions of National Police advisor Koval» and «family business through real estate». These materials should be read with double criticism of the source, but the questions they raise (ownership structure, company affiliations, dynamics of family assets) require official explanations. The latter, naturally, are absent and not expected.

Declarations and «Trifles» that are not so

In Koval’s declarations, significant amounts of cash and bank funds were recorded, against which the «material assistance for household needs» particularly stands out as dissonant. Any discrepancy between the dynamics of savings and official income — is a subject for routine NACP checks. The latter maintains a discreet silence on this topic.

Media publications mention at least two apartments in Kyiv; checking cadastral data and transaction chronology — is a standard procedure in forensics journalism. Some registry records confirm the presence of large properties owned by family members.

Reports from the construction site in the Carpathians (conditionally called a «resort») showed that the land belongs to Koval’s family. The question is — who are the ultimate beneficiaries and how were the stages of work financed. Without access to accounting and bank statements, this — is a blind spot, covered only by vague explanations from the figures involved.

After his dismissal in 2021, Koval publicly called the reason «political», submitted a «pre-dismissal» declaration, and avoided detailed answers on the topic of family assets, limiting himself to general statements about legality. Direct comments regarding «material assistance to the chosen» are not found in the public domain.

The return in 2025 was also not accompanied by a clear public explanation. It is hardly — a communication gap, which the authorities like to blame for their glaring decisions. But there is also nothing frank to say in this case. Hence, the complete absence of any comments.

And what in the end? Nothing

The National Police — is a key instrument of law and order in a country at war. Any suspicions of hidden benefits, selective incentives, and «family resorts» of high-ranking officials erode trust in the institution, and therefore — reduce citizens’ willingness to cooperate with investigations and comply with laws. Even if each claim individually turns out to be explainable, society has the right to expect active transparency: full investigation and explanation of income/expenses, ownership chains, affiliations, and conflicts of interest.

The story of Yevhen Koval — is almost a textbook on how the law enforcement system works in Ukraine: everything lies on the surface, but no one rushes to provide answers.

Take the Zakarpattia lands of Koval’s family. Dozens of hectares, neatly registered to relatives, — as if a «rural startup». Except this startup is worth tens of millions of hryvnias. Where did the money come from? Who is the ultimate owner? What taxes were paid? There are no clear explanations. Instead, there is the usual silence and remarks in the spirit of «everything is legal».

The Carpathian «resort» project — is a separate masterpiece. A hotel complex is being built, words about «developing tourism» are heard, but society has seen neither investors, nor credit lines, nor transparent contracts. Everything is as if in a fog: money comes from somewhere, contractors disappear somewhere, and the result — is a beautiful picture with a mountain view.

Declarations? This is generally a genre of satire. On paper — an official salary and a few bonuses, including «material assistance for household needs». In reality — apartments in Kyiv, substantial savings, and a lifestyle that in no way matches public service. It turns out the general seems to serve the state but lives as if working for an international corporation.

But the most piquant — is the entourage. Connections with former «economic» generals, whose hands are elbow-deep in schemes, paint a picture not of friendly communication, but of a real business club of former law enforcement officers. These connections — are like a trail: wherever Koval goes, familiar names and stories about gray markets, excise taxes, and «protection» immediately surface.

And finally, his return in 2025. A decision that looked like a sudden «comeback» from behind the scenes. Who lobbied for his return? What reliability checks did the general undergo — if he underwent any at all? Why did all this happen in silence, and society was presented with a fait accompli? War, a crisis of trust in institutions, a demand for full transparency — and instead, a behind-the-scenes reshuffle in the style of «as if nothing happened».

This is how cynicism is born: when the questions are known to everyone, but the answers — to no one.

The case of Yevhen Koval — is a symptom of a systemic problem: the privatization of reputational «dividends» of a law enforcement position with a blurred line between public service and family welfare. A package of open data (declarations, relatives’ land assets, «material assistance», return to the system without a clear briefing) forms a persistent zone of distrust.

The answer here is one — radical publicity: disclosure of beneficiaries of family business, daily open reporting on income/expenses, and independent audit of conflicts of interest. Until this happens, «the general of carefree service» will remain not only a media label but also a risk to the institutional legitimacy of the National Police.

Мирослава Гриневська