What happened
According to an investigation by Sledstvo.Info, the head of the cybercrime prevention department in Chernihiv region, Oleksandr Bahola, inherited a 2022 Porsche Cayenne worth almost UAH 4 million from his 75‑year‑old mother. Bahola told a journalist that her income allowed for "not one Porsche, but about ten."
"My mother was in business and had enough funds — not for one Porsche, but for about ten."
— Oleksandr Bahola, head of the cybercrime prevention department (Chernihiv region)
Details and key inconsistencies
Brief list of confirmed facts:
- Information about the transfer of the Porsche — in the Sledstvo.Info investigation.
- Open registers (YouControl, the NACP electronic register) contain no data on companies or individual entrepreneurs (FOP) linked to Halyna Bahola that would explain such wealth.
- Bahola has worked in the cyber police since 2023; in 2025 he headed the cybercrime prevention department in Kherson region (previously — senior inspector and assistant to MP Ruslan Bohdan).
- In the 2024 declaration he reported salary of over UAH 670,000, a Volkswagen ID. UNYX MAX (2024) — almost UAH 1.5 million, and a 2013 Harley‑Davidson Heritage motorcycle — over UAH 670,000.
- In the 2023 declaration the motorcycle was initially listed at UAH 50,000, later amended to UAH 675,950.
- In June 2025 Bahola became the owner of an 85.6 sq. m apartment in Uzhhorod worth almost UAH 1.3 million.
Why it matters
The cyber police is one of the key agencies responsible for citizens' and infrastructure's digital security. When an official from this agency appears in circumstances involving assets that do not correlate with the public income records of relatives, it raises questions not only about ethics but also about risks of abuse and erosion of trust in the institution.
Additional important context: media investigations (Bihus.Info, Sledstvo.Info) have previously highlighted cases of relatives of cyber police employees acquiring expensive property. Journalists and experts, including LIGA.net, have also raised questions about technical risks related to processing data on servers of foreign companies. Taken together, these facts increase the need for transparent checks.
Possible explanations (without hasty conclusions)
What might explain the situation:
- Actual source: the mother really had income from real estate or other business activities not visible in simple register searches.
- A gift or inheritance from others, sale of the mother's assets with official documentation that needs verification.
- Errors in declarations that will require correction and clarification.
- The most concerning scenario — hidden or illegal sources of income that require attention from anti‑corruption bodies.
What should happen next
A set of logical steps to restore trust:
- The NACP and relevant law enforcement agencies should verify the origin of the assets and the consistency of the declarations.
- The police should initiate an internal review and provide public explanations about the procedure for receiving and transferring the vehicle.
- Journalistic investigations and civil society analysis remain critically important — public oversight pushes institutions to act.
Summary: the Bahola case is not just a story about an expensive car. It is a test of the transparency and accountability of the structures responsible for the country's digital security. Now it is up to the oversight bodies: answers about the sources of funds and the completeness of the declarations must be public and convincing.
