Judge Yaroslav Golovachev
The French Quarter is one of Kyiv's most elite and expensive residential complexes. It was here, in 2020, that Myron Golovachev acquired a 100-square-meter apartment immediately after graduating from high school. Such an apartment costs at least $300; it was a gift from his grandfather. Why were we interested? It's simple: Myron is the son of the chairman of the Kyiv Court of Appeal. And it is from here that our journey through the Golovachev family's numerous holdings begins, because this apartment is the smallest we were able to find, writes hromadske . His father is Judge Yaroslav Golovachev.
Eternal Judge Yaroslav Golovachev
For nearly 10 years, the Kyiv Court of Appeals, one of the capital's most important judicial institutions, has been headed by the same person—Yaroslav Vyacheslavovich Golovachev. Perhaps only Ruslan Kozlov, head of the renowned Pechersk Court, can boast such a long-standing track record.
By law, a person can preside over a court of first or second instance for no more than six years, or two three-year terms. However, various tricks allow these two-year terms to circumvent the law they are supposed to uphold.
Yaroslav Golovachev's last of two possible terms as head of the Court of Appeal ended in 2021. However, he had no intention of leaving his post. On September 6, 2024, Golovachev's third term, no longer stipulated by law, expired. He is now serving his fourth term, out of a possible two.
"This is the standard practice for court chairmen and judges in general of the old judicial corporation. It's what's called a judicial mafia. Court chairmen are kept in office forever. This is power, it's money, it's influence, it's the court's connection to the political authorities, and it's the political channel through which the authorities most often control judges. There are several schemes: either they simply disregard the law altogether (this happens less often), or it often happens that a judge voluntarily resigns as court chair a month before the end of their term, then someone else takes over, or even their assistants... Then, a month later, their powers are removed, and the same judge becomes court chair again. This is widespread throughout the country. This is an unconscionable practice, a clear violation of the law ," explains Mikhail Zhernakov, Chairman of the Board of the DEJURE Foundation.
Meanwhile, Golovachev continues his active work during his fourth term as head. In October 2024, he blocked the High Anti-Corruption Court's appeal of the retrial of the notorious head of the Khmelnytskyi Medical and Social Expertise Commission, Tetyana Krupa , suspected of illicit enrichment. In November , he made working visits to Germany. In December, he participated in the High Council of Justice's events on the effectiveness of justice.
Chairman of the Board of the DEJURE Foundation Mikhail Zhernakov
One might assume that Yaroslav Golovachev is truly an indispensable leader and a brilliant manager, but no. In 2020, the Accounts Chamber conducted an audit of the Court of Appeal. They analyzed the court's work for 2018-2019 and identified a number of serious violations and shortcomings in the court's financial and economic activities. Specifically, nearly 2 million hryvnias were inefficiently spent on purchasing equipment that was never put into operation for a long time, as well as accounting problems. The court also planned to incur over 11 million hryvnias in unjustified expenses.
Moreover, more than 6 million hryvnias were spent on the repair and maintenance of premises that were not even on the institution's balance sheet and did not have the necessary documentation.
The report also noted that the courthouse premises do not meet basic legal requirements and state building codes. Specifically, this concerns the layout of courtrooms, deliberation rooms, and rooms for trial participants and witnesses.
But despite the fact that everything isn't smooth sailing in court, no one wants to leave their beloved job. Especially when, over 25 years in various court positions with government salaries, they've managed to amass a real estate empire.
Yaroslav Golovachev: Million-Dollar Gifts and a Mysterious Fortune
March 2024. Petropavlivska Borshahivka. Ten hundred square meters of valuable land near the capital become the property of Anastasia Golovacheva, the wife of the court chairperson. The land was a gift from her mother. According to the land registry, the plot is valued at 16.3 million hryvnias. Anastasia currently has no business. The notary certificate she supposedly held has been invalid since March 2021.
In his 2023 declaration , the court chairman listed almost one and a half million hryvnias and another $120,000 in family savings. Converting all this money into hryvnias at the then-current exchange rate would amount to just over six million hryvnias. The court chairman's salary is also quite substantial—over three million hryvnias per year. He also receives income from securities and property sales.
In addition, the Golovachev family owns several other plots of land scattered throughout Kyiv's outskirts: 45 acres in the village of Buky for farming, 10 acres in Shevchenkivske for construction, and another 8 acres in Gnidino for gardening. And this is only the wife's property. Yaroslav himself owns another 8 acres in Gnidino and another 25 acres in the village of Fenevichi for development.
From father-in-law and mother-in-law free of charge and with love
Novopecherskie Lipki. The Golovachev family owns a whopping 118 square meters here. An apartment of this size, without renovations, in this building currently costs 12,5 million hryvnias—approximately $300. The apartment belongs to Sergey Rybchenko, Golovachev's father-in-law. The three rooms, purchased in 2013, were not significantly different in dollar value , ranging from $3500 to $4500 per square meter. Another luxury residential complex, Central Park, has another 120-square-meter apartment, purchased in 2019. Apartments of the same size are currently listed on real estate websites for $650, or over $27 million hryvnias. At the time of purchase, this apartment, without renovations, was worth at least $120.
But what does the father-in-law have to do with this? It's simple. According to the declaration of the head of the Court of Appeal, Golovachev, his entire family is registered in this apartment, using it free of charge.
They also have free use of a parking space there. My father-in-law also provided a car for free—a 2020 Mercedes-Benz GLS 400. The car was purchased in December 2023 and costs at least $80.
Incidentally, my father-in-law was a member of the Kyiv-Svyatoshinsky District Council, elected in 2015 as a member of the European Solidarity party. In his most recent declaration for 2020, he reported just under a million hryvnias in annual business income. And another 100 hryvnias in pensions. That's a considerable amount, but will it be enough to cover all the aforementioned assets? His mother-in-law, Liliya Kernychnaya, isn't far behind. She's been running businesses for many years— flower trading and construction —while the rest of her business, including her sole proprietorship, is somehow related to real estate rentals. In 2020, her total official income from all her businesses amounted to 920 hryvnias. That's approximately 70 hryvnias per month.
Kernichnaya, like her husband, happily hands over their assets to their children. The judge's family's luxurious Moscow apartment became too cramped, so in September 2022, the Golovachs moved into her 220-square-meter estate with a 12-hectare plot in the village of Severinovka , a suburb of Kyiv . The sales department told us that a bare shell there starts at $80, but depending on location and finishing, the price can reach $700.
The Golovachev family also uses their mother-in-law's 47-square-meter apartment in the same "French Quarter" free of charge, where the father gifted his grandson Miron the property we mentioned at the beginning of this story. The judge also has a parking space there.
The French Quarter wasn't just a place for the father-in-law and mother-in-law. The court chairman's father, along with his in-laws, purchased another apartment and two garages there. Why, you might ask, would a family with only one car registered—and that one belonged to the grandfather—need three parking spaces? Because Yaroslav's family also has a passion for luxury cars.
Car park
Take, for example, a BMW X5. In 2023, it belonged to his wife, Anastasia. In April 2023, she was involved in an accident while driving it. In December, she sold it for almost $37. According to property records, the 70-year-old mother-in-law of the court's president currently drives a 2019 Audi Q8. Such a car costs over $60 on average. His 73-year-old father-in-law, in addition to the aforementioned Mercedes, owns a regular 2020 Fiat Doblo. Golovachev's 78-year-old father purchased a 2016 Mercedes-Benz Citan in 2024 for approximately $10 and a 2017 Volkswagen Transporter for $20. Golovachev himself, however, owns no cars.
Of course, we wanted to ask Yaroslav Golovachev himself how he's managed to circumvent the rules for four years now, remaining in office for decades. However, we never received a response from the chairman of the Kyiv Court of Appeal.
If we take into account all the real estate assets of the Golovachev family, which includes, in addition to him, his wife Anastasia, sons Myron and Miroslav, his mother-in-law, father-in-law, and the father of the court chairman, they currently own six apartments, five garages (all in the central part of the capital, primarily in the most expensive Pechersk district), 15 plots of land scattered around Kyiv, totaling almost two hectares, and two more residential buildings. According to our most conservative estimates, the total value of all real estate assets today is $3 million.
The majority of his entire property empire is in the free use of Golovachev himself or members of his family. As for income, for a schematic comparison, let's take 2020, the year for which Yaroslav Golovachev himself, his family, and his wives reported their income. In 2020, the total income of all family members from all activities amounted to approximately 5,5 million hryvnias. In 2023, Yaroslav Golovachev and his family declared approximately 6 million hryvnias in profit. Yes, this is all a very large sum, but at this rate, it would likely take years to accumulate a multi-million dollar fortune.
Skelet.Org
On the subject : PPO systems in Ukraine steal foreign military and military equipment
Leshchenko: Nasirov was cleared by Judge Golovachev, who owns property in Europe and Ukraine.
The Prosecutor's Office Corporation + the Pechersk Court = corruption?
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, Facebook , Twitter , VK - Only new faces from the SKLEP section!