Yurii Sverba
Yurii Sverba | |
|---|---|
Юрій Сверба | |
| Deputy Head of the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine | |
| Assumed office 25 October 2024 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Yurii Ivanovych Sverba 24 March 1994 |
| Citizenship | Ukrainian |
| Education | National University "Odesa Law Academy" V. M. Koretsky Institute of State and Law |
| Occupation | lawyer |
Yurii Ivanovych Sverba (Ukrainian: Юрій Іванович Сверба; born 24 March 1994) is a Ukrainian lawyer who has served as Deputy Head of the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine since 25 October 2024.[1][2] Prior to his appointment to the Restoration Agency, he worked at the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP), where he headed the Department for Integrity Policy Development in the Public and Private Sectors from 2023 to 2024.[1]
In 2025 and 2026, Sverba's assets and his ties to businessman Eduard Marharian, whose company received government contracts in the energy sector, became the subject of media investigations. In August 2026, Ukrainian media reported that Sverba, whose responsibilities at the Restoration Agency include procurement, used a parking space owned by Marharian, the director and 75% owner of Tekhsnabkomplekt Servis (TSKS), a company involved in procurement contracts with state-owned energy enterprises.[3][4]
Early life and education
Yurii Sverba was born on 24 March 1994 in the village of Rokyta, Kovel Raion, Volyn Oblast, Ukraine.
Until 2011, Sverba studied at the Volyn Regional Lyceum with Advanced Military and Physical Training. After graduating from the lyceum, he enrolled at the National University "Odesa Law Academy", where he studied at the Institute of Prosecution and Investigation from 2011 to 2015 and at the Institute of Criminal Justice from 2015 to 2017.
From 2018 to 2022, he studied at the V. M. Koretsky Institute of State and Law of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Career
Sverba began his professional career in Ukraine's free legal aid system. From 2016 to 2017, he headed the Starovyzhiv Legal Aid Bureau of the Kovel Local Centre for the Provision of Free Secondary Legal Aid.
In December 2017, he joined the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine as a state expert in the Expert Group on Access to Justice within the Directorate for Human Rights, Access to Justice and Legal Awareness. In 2020, he served as a state expert in the Expert Group on Legal Institutions Related to Justice within the Directorate of Justice and Criminal Justice.
In 2021, Sverba joined the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP), initially serving as a chief specialist. From 2023 to 2024, he headed the Department for Integrity Policy Development in the Public and Private Sectors.[5][6]
In November 2023, together with NACP Deputy Head Yaroslav Liubchenko, Sverba presented the results of Ukraine's development of its whistleblower protection framework at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).[7]
In 2024, he participated in work on the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Review of Ukraine, prepared in cooperation between the NACP and the OECD.[8][9]
On 25 October 2024, Sverba was appointed Deputy Head of the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine by Order No. 1046-r of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.[2][1][10][11]
Controversies
Investigation into assets
In May 2025, the anti-fraud project 190 published a report on Yurii Sverba's assets and his 2024 asset declaration. The report drew attention to his purchase of an 85.8 m² apartment in Kyiv valued at approximately ₴5.5 million, private loans he received shortly before acquiring the property, and his use of a 2018 Volvo XC90 owned by his partner, Olena Mytnyk.[12]
The authors noted that Sverba received loans from Mytnyk and his brother in May 2024 and purchased the apartment later that month. The report also focused on the Volvo XC90, whose value was listed in his declaration as ₴752,843. Comparing this figure with asking prices for similar vehicles on the secondary market, the authors of 190 suggested that the declared value of the vehicle may have been understated.[12] No public information has been reported indicating that the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) established that the value of the vehicle had been falsely declared.
In August 2026, the Ukrainian news outlet Comments published a more extensive report on Sverba's assets and professional connections. The journalists analysed changes in his income, savings, loans and repayment of financial obligations over the preceding years, as well as the circumstances surrounding his purchase of the apartment in 2024.[3]
The report noted, among other things, discrepancies between the value of the apartment stated in Sverba's declaration, the expenditure declared for its purchase, and the value recorded in registry documents. At the same time, the authors did not conclude from their analysis of his declared income, previous savings and loans that the funds used for the purchase had been established as being of unlawful origin.[3]
Links to Eduard Marharian and Tekhsnabkomplekt Servis
In August 2026, Ukrainian media published reports concerning Sverba's financial ties to businessman Eduard Marharian and government contracts awarded to Tekhsnabkomplekt Servis (TSKS), a company associated with Marharian.[3][4][13]
According to the reports, since 3 February 2025 Sverba has had the right to use an 18.2 m² parking space owned by Marharian, the director and 75% owner of TSKS. The company supplies electrical equipment and participates in procurement procedures conducted by Ukrainian state-owned energy companies.[3][4]
The journalists also reported that Sverba and Marharian had purchased apartments in neighbouring buildings within the same residential complex. Sverba purchased his apartment on 10 May 2024, while Marharian purchased his on 18 September of that year. The investigation described Sverba's declared use of Marharian's parking space as a documented financial connection between the two men.[3]
By the time this financial relationship began, Sverba was serving as Deputy Head of the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine. His responsibilities at the agency included the development of procurement, integrity, transparency and accountability.[3]
As part of the investigation, journalists analysed government procurement involving TSKS through the Prozorro electronic procurement system. According to their calculations, the dataset they examined contained 58 contracts awarded to the company with a combined value of approximately ₴27.91 million. TSKS was the sole bidder in 25 procurement procedures with a combined value of approximately ₴17.1 million.[3]
The investigation also examined the timing of the contracts. Following Sverba's appointment as Deputy Head of the Restoration Agency on 25 October 2024, TSKS entered into 29 contracts with a combined value of approximately ₴15.24 million. Between Sverba's appointment and the beginning of his use of Marharian's parking space, the company entered into three contracts worth approximately ₴198,000. A further 26 contracts, with a combined value of approximately ₴15.04 million, were concluded after 3 February 2025.[3][4][13]
Among TSKS's principal state-sector customers in the dataset analysed by the journalists were Atomenergomash, the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, and Ukrenergo. According to the investigation, contracts with Atomenergomash and the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant accounted for approximately ₴19.9 million, or more than 71% of the total value of the contracts analysed. Together with a contract involving Ukrenergo, they accounted for more than 85%.[4][13][14][15][16]
The investigation also referred to a TSKS project involving the supply of equipment for a 330 kV electrical substation, information about which had been published in the portfolio of electrical equipment manufacturer Rittal. In the publicly available project description, TSKS was identified as a partner and contractor responsible for a system solution involving a 2,000 A distribution board. The end customer, project location, general contractor and project value were not disclosed in the description.[3]
The authors of the reports linked public interest in these circumstances to Sverba's official responsibilities in procurement and his financial relationship with the owner of a company supplying equipment to state-owned energy enterprises.[3][4][14]
Assets and finances
According to Sverba's electronic asset declarations, his salary was his primary source of income during his government service. Between 2021 and 2025, he also declared foreign-currency savings, cryptocurrency transactions, private loans, and investments in Ukrainian domestic government bonds (OVDPs).[3]
At the end of 2021, Sverba declared monetary assets of US$30,000, €21,500, and approximately ₴37,600. In 2022, his salary amounted to approximately ₴742,500, while he declared an additional ₴103,700 in income from cryptocurrency transactions. That year, he also acquired cryptoassets with a total declared value of approximately ₴176,700. In 2023, Sverba received approximately ₴1.12 million in salary and, at the end of the year, declared monetary assets of US$48,700, €22,000, and approximately ₴72,000.[3]
On 10 May 2024, Sverba purchased an 85.8 m² apartment in Kyiv, with a value of ₴5,498,292 stated in his asset declaration.[3][12] Shortly before acquiring the property, he received private loans from his brother, Roman Sverba, amounting to ₴190,000 and US$13,000, and from his partner, Olena Mytnyk, amounting to ₴495,000 and US$37,900. The loans totalled ₴685,000 and US$50,900.[3]
During 2024, Sverba partially repaid these obligations. Part of the debt was repaid using cryptocurrency assets with a declared value of approximately ₴636,400. According to calculations cited in the media investigation, Sverba repaid approximately ₴1.99 million in obligations to Mytnyk and Roman Sverba during the year, of which approximately ₴1.35 million was repaid in monetary funds.[3] At the end of 2024, his outstanding liabilities included ₴190,000 owed to Roman Sverba and US$20,000 and ₴300,000 owed to Mytnyk.[3]
Sverba also declared the right to use, without charge, a 2018 Volvo XC90 owned by Mytnyk. The vehicle's value was listed in the declaration as ₴752,843.[12]
In 2025, Sverba declared total income of approximately ₴2 million, including approximately ₴1.35 million in salary, ₴609,000 from the redemption of Ukrainian domestic government bonds, and approximately ₴47,000 in interest income from the bonds. During the year, he also acquired 418 domestic government bonds with a nominal value of ₴1,000 each and repaid ₴227,000 of his loan from Mytnyk.[3]
At the end of 2025, Sverba declared US$5,000, €8,400, and ₴18,000 in cash. His outstanding liabilities included ₴190,000 owed to Roman Sverba and US$20,000 and ₴73,000 owed to Mytnyk. In December 2025, he also received a bank loan of ₴300,000.[3]
References
- 1 2 3 "Yurii Sverba, Deputy Head of the Agency for Procurement". State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine.
- 1 2 "Про призначення Сверби Ю. І. заступником Голови Державного агентства відновлення та розвитку інфраструктури України" [On the appointment of Yu. I. Sverba as Deputy Head of the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine]. Legislation of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Verkhovna Rada. 25 October 2024.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 "Тендери для друзів і квартира за майже 6 мільйонів: що відомо про заступника голови Агентства відновлення Юрія Свербу" [Tenders for friends and an apartment worth almost 6 million: What is known about Restoration Agency Deputy Head Yurii Sverba]. Comments.ua (in Ukrainian). 18 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Мільйонні контракти в обмін на паркомісце для заступника голови Агентства відновлення Юрія Сверби — ЗМІ" [Million-hryvnia contracts in exchange for a parking space for Restoration Agency Deputy Head Yurii Sverba — media]. UNIAN (in Ukrainian). 18 August 2026.
- ↑ "Чотири роки НАЗК 2.0.: розбудова доброчесності у публічній та приватній сферах" [Four years of NACP 2.0: Building integrity in the public and private sectors]. National Agency on Corruption Prevention (in Ukrainian).
- ↑ "Прогрес у розвитку інституту викривання корупції в Україні: презентація в ОЕСР" [Progress in the development of the institution of whistleblowing in Ukraine: Presentation at the OECD]. National Agency on Corruption Prevention (in Ukrainian). 8 November 2023.
- ↑ "Україна та ОЕСР розпочинають роботу над Оглядом з питань доброчесності та боротьби з корупцією" [Ukraine and OECD begin work on the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Review]. National Agency on Corruption Prevention (in Ukrainian).
- ↑ "Примірний кодекс доброчесності" [Model Code of Integrity] (PDF). National Agency on Corruption Prevention (in Ukrainian). 2024.
- ↑ "Юрій Сверба, заступник голови Агентства з питань закупівель" [Yurii Sverba, Deputy Head of the Agency for Procurement]. State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 14 April 2026.
- ↑ "Оновили Антикорупційну програму: що змінилося, і чому це важливо" [Anti-Corruption Programme updated: What has changed and why it matters]. State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine (in Ukrainian).
- 1 2 3 4 Topolia, Vasyl (8 May 2025). "Заступник голови Агентства відновлення Юрій Сверба позичає гроші в своєї співмешканки та їздить на її преміальному джипі Volvo" [Restoration Agency Deputy Head Yurii Sverba borrows money from his partner and drives her premium Volvo SUV]. 190 (in Ukrainian).
- 1 2 3 "Заступник голови Агентства відновлення орендує паркомісце у власника компанії-постачальника з мільйонними контрактами — ЗМІ" [Restoration Agency Deputy Head rents a parking space from the owner of a supplier company with million-hryvnia contracts — media]. Focus (in Ukrainian). 18 August 2026.
- 1 2 "Заступник голови Агентства відновлення Сверба орендує паркомісце у власника компанії-постачальника державних енергопідприємств — ЗМІ" [Restoration Agency Deputy Head Sverba rents a parking space from the owner of a supplier to state-owned energy companies — media]. Delovaya Stolitsa (in Ukrainian). 18 August 2026.
- ↑ "Заступник голови Агентства відновлення Сверба орендує паркомісце у власника компанії, яка отримала 15 млн грн держконтрактів — ЗМІ" [Restoration Agency Deputy Head Sverba rents a parking space from the owner of a company that received ₴15 million in government contracts — media]. Komersant Ukrainskyi (in Ukrainian). 18 August 2026.
- ↑ "Паркомісце в обмін на мільйонні контракти: ЗМІ дослідили зв'язки заступника голови Агентства відновлення" [Parking space in exchange for million-hryvnia contracts: Media investigate links of Restoration Agency Deputy Head]. RBC-Ukraine (in Ukrainian). 18 August 2026.