There is information that the figure involved in the high-profile case "about transporting $700,000 in a car trunk," Mikhail Burdeyniy, has already been transferred to a new job. He has been reassigned to customs. As of October 22, he holds the position of head of the customs clearance department No. 6 at the "Yahodin" checkpoint.
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SubscribeThis was reported to Ukrainian journalists by Valentina Chernysh, the press secretary of the Volyn customs.
To begin, let's refresh our memory on this case - in June 2021, on the Kyiv-Chop road in the Rivne region, employees of the State Bureau of Investigations stopped an "Audi Q7" vehicle, driven by customs officer Mikhail Burdeyniy from the Kovel district. During a search, law enforcement allegedly discovered more than $704,300 in cash in the car's trunk. Authorities opened cases under several articles of the Criminal Code. However, it later became known that the court had seized not the entire amount, but only $690,300.
However, after nearly a year and a half of investigation, at the end of 2022, the case against Burdeyniy was closed. The money turned out not to be his, as the actual owner allegedly decided to donate it for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The press secretary of the Volyn customs, Valentina Chernysh, explained that all suspicions against Mikhail Burdeyniy were lifted.
"He has court rulings stating that he is not guilty, that the money is not his, and that these funds were transferred by the owner for the benefit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. There are no legal grounds to dismiss Burdeyniy," she commented.
According to the press secretary, Burdeyniy had been working at the Volyn customs of the State Fiscal Service since 2015. In 2019, he was transferred to the staff of the reformed customs. The logic of that reform was to separate customs from the tax service. As a result, a separate legal entity emerged - the Volyn customs of the State Customs Service. It was in this agency that, while the criminal proceedings against Mikhail Burdeyniy were ongoing, his workplace remained. Subsequently, the Volyn customs as a legal entity ceased to exist and is now a division of the State Customs Service, reporting directly to it.
At the end of October 2024, Mikhail Burdeyniy was transferred to a new position. He is now the head of the customs clearance department No. 6 at the "Yahodin" customs post.
"Considering the high-profile nature of the case, a decision regarding Burdeyniy was not made for a long time. However, since all law enforcement agencies lifted all suspicions, and what he was suspected of was not confirmed, he had to be appointed to the new structure. That is exactly what was done. At the Volyn customs of the State Customs Service, Burdeyniy held a slightly higher position than now," Valentina Chernysh reported.
Mikhail Burdeyniy was appointed to his new position in October by acting head of the Volyn customs Andrey Chaborai. On November 6, after information about this staffing decision became public, he returned to work in Lviv, and a temporary official from Kyiv will lead the Volyn customs.
"Chaborai Andrey Mykolayovych works as the head of the "Krakovets" customs post of the Lviv customs. About a year ago, he was temporarily appointed as the acting head of the Volyn customs. He was sent from Lviv to Volyn to fulfill his duties. Recently, we appointed another acting head - Stasenko Dmytro Ihorovych," the press secretary of the Volyn customs explained.
Earlier, journalists reported that Mikhail Burdeyniy, during his years of work at customs, officially did not acquire a single car or property. At the same time, his relatives accumulated assets worth about $600,000. Subsequently, the National Agency for Corruption Prevention checked the compliance of this wealth with their income. No violations were found, although they indicated doubts about the ability of his relatives to acquire such assets.