A government official in the Rivne region of Ukraine formally highlighted that he currently owns at least $ 8 million worth of cryptocurrencies and 500 Tesla shares. The news came right after another Ukrainian lawmaker in Kyiv found it hard to prove possession of the cryptocurrencies in his asset statement.

As Bitcoin.com highlights, cryptocurrency investments have enjoyed growing popularity among Ukrainian politicians in recent years, which have made mandatory disclosures of the assets they currently own. According to various Ukrainian media reports, a council member from the Virovsky village in western Rivne Oblast claimed to have 124 BTC worth nearly $ 8 million at current prices.

 A Millionaire Hodler

The story is an example that shows what Bitcoin has meant to those who purchased early, invested little money, and are now millionaires. According to Bitcoin.com, 36-year-old Vladimir Pachesny acquired the coins in early 2013 for 73,920 hryvnias at the time of purchase, a little over $ 2,800, using the current exchange rate for the Ukrainian currency.

The media highlighted that many Ukrainian officials became millionaires. An April report highlighted that government workers and politicians had 46,351 BTC worth 75 billion hryvnias (they are worth more than $ 3 billion today), and a member of the Dnipro City Council, Mishalov Dmitrovich , had the most prominent fortune: 18,000 BTC.

In 2020, for example, Rostyslav Solod, a newly elected MP from the Kramatorsk regional department in Ukraine, became the first political representative in the country to declare to legal bodies a personal stash equivalent to more than $ 24 million in funds. Monero.

In their 2020 statements, the set of public figures admitted to owning 46,351 BTC, several other digital currencies, including ETH, LTC, BCH, and XMR, according to figures registered by the Opendatabot platform that tracks public records in Ukraine.

However, not everyone could provide the necessary documents to prove that they have their currencies. This spring, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) assured their commitment to verify the figures.

Virtual Assets of Ukraine, a public organization, and the Blockchain4Ukraine association, which unites lawmakers from different political factions in the Ukrainian parliament, have proposed introducing a requirement that increases transparency in every move concerning asset declarations by officials.

The two entities defended the idea that public officials must now bring the addresses of their cryptocurrency wallets in their statements. In a 2019 law amendment, all Ukrainian citizens got required to reveal publicly the exact amount of crypto they currently own.

This new law in Ukraine forces citizens to disclose the number of cryptocurrencies they own, in addition to those currencies owned by their close relatives. Law No. 140-IX got introduced in 2019, and it arrived just after the European country amended the Constitution.

During the last years, Ukraine suffered from various economic challenges related to political conflicts in the region. This reason led to many efforts from Ukrainian entities to intensify measures against corruption.

By: Jenson Nuñez

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