Zelensky orders return of asset declarations for rear-echelon security officials, signs call-center fraud law
On 16 September 2026, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the preparation of a decision to reinstate mandatory asset declarations for law enforcement officers and Security Forces members who are not at war, in a scope sufficient to monitor their property and lifestyle. In the same address he signed a law introducing criminal liability for fraudulent call centers and ordered a vetting of all heads of central executive bodies, citing high corruption risks at the tax service, ARMA, and various inspectorates.
Key points
- Zelensky announced on 16 September 2026 that asset declarations will be reinstated for law enforcement and Security Forces personnel not at war, in a scope that allows real control over their property and lifestyle.
- He ordered Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky to vet all heads of central executive bodies, both appointed and acting, including the tax service, ARMA, and inspectorates deemed to carry high corruption risks.
- Zelensky signed a law establishing criminal liability for fraudulent call centers, adding a new Criminal Code article on 'electronic-communications fraud.'
- Penalties range from 3–8 years for the basic offense, 5–10 years for repeat offenses, and 7–12 years during martial law; creating or leading a fraud organization carries 7–12 years with confiscation of property.
- A participant who reports the organization and helps expose it before a suspect is formally charged may be released from liability; this exemption does not apply to organizers or leaders.
- The Verkhovna Rada adopted the call-center bill (draft law No. 10190) on 16 September; 313 members of parliament voted in favor.
- Zelensky linked the package to filling a significant wartime budget deficit, saying each such decision helps Ukrainians and the country's defense.
Why it matters
The announcement reverses a wartime carve-out that had exempted rear-echelon law enforcement and security personnel from asset disclosure, reopening anti-corruption monitoring of officials who are not on the front lines. Zelensky tied the broader package — declarations, vetting of central executive body heads, and the new call-center law — to closing a significant wartime budget deficit. Restoring and expanding declaration requirements is also a stated condition in Ukraine's agreements with the IMF and the EU's Ukraine Facility program, giving the move external financial significance beyond its domestic anti-corruption thrust.
What happened
On 16 September 2026, President Volodymyr Zelensky used his evening address to announce a package of anti-corruption and fiscal decisions taken at a meeting the same day. He said a decision would reinstate mandatory asset declarations for law enforcement officers and Security Forces members not at war, in a scope sufficient to monitor their property and lifestyle. He instructed Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky to vet all heads of central executive bodies, both appointed and acting, singling out the tax service, ARMA, and various inspectorates as carrying high corruption risks. Zelensky also called on the government to accelerate the renewal of key state enterprises, naming Lesy Ukrainy and Energoatom and citing the experience of Ukrnafta and Naftogaz. The Cabinet of Ministers was tasked with preparing implementation details. In the same address, Zelensky announced he had signed a law introducing criminal liability for fraudulent call centers. The Verkhovna Rada had adopted the bill, draft law No. 10190, earlier that day with 313 votes in favor. The law adds a new Criminal Code article on 'electronic-communications fraud,' covering unlawful collection, storage, processing, and use of personal data and bank secrecy information. Basic offenses carry 3–8 years' imprisonment; repeat offenses 5–10 years; offenses during martial law 7–12 years. Creating or leading a fraud organization carries 7–12 years with confiscation of property; participation in such an organization carries 5–10 years. A participant who reports the organization and helps expose it before a suspect is formally charged may be released from liability; this exemption does not apply to organizers or leaders. Zelensky framed the package as a response to a significant wartime budget deficit, saying each decision that fills it helps Ukrainians and the country's defense.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All supplied sources are Ukrainian and frame the package as a domestic anti-corruption and budget-stabilization initiative. Coverage centers Zelensky as the actor and anchors the announcement in his 16 September meeting and evening address. Sources link the call-center law to ongoing law enforcement operations — the 12 August police searches that shut down 94 call centers with 1,794 equipped workstations, and the NABU and SAP 'Carthage' operation targeting alleged protection of a call-center network by an Office of the Prosecutor General official — as well as to the EU's stated expectation that anti-corruption bodies must work without obstruction. Ukrainian outlets stress fiscal urgency, quoting Zelensky that the wartime budget deficit is significant and that each decision filling it helps Ukrainians and the country's defense.
Where reporting differs
Sources cite slightly different spellings of the state enterprises Zelensky referenced — 'Lesy Ukrainy,' 'Lisiv Ukrainy,' 'Lisy Ukrainy,' or 'Forests of Ukraine' for the forestry company, and 'Ukrnafta' alongside the variant 'Uknafta' — with some facts also dropping the definite article. Sources also differ on the maximum penalty for participation in fraudulent call centers: one fact cites up to 15 years with confiscation of property, while another breaks the penalties down by offense (3–8 years for the basic offense, 5–10 years for repeat offenses, 7–12 years under martial law, 7–12 years with confiscation for organizing a fraud organization, and 5–10 years for participation).
Background
Mandatory asset declarations and full declaration checks in Ukraine were suspended after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. On 12 October 2023, declarations were restored by law, but submission was postponed for certain categories of servicemembers and law enforcement personnel. In August 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a draft law proposing to open declarations of persons performing tasks in the interests of Ukraine's national security and defense one year after the end of martial law. On 12 August, police reported 411 searches and the shutdown of 94 fraudulent call centers with 1,794 fully equipped workstations. NABU and SAP have conducted a special operation called 'Carthage' regarding alleged protection of a fraudulent call-center network by an Office of the Prosecutor General official.