$6 Million in cash: two officials exposed in Khmelnytskyi over illegal enrichment scheme
Source: State Bureau of Investigation
A mother and her son who hold two senior positions in Khmelnytskyi state agencies were found in possession of $6 million in undeclared cash and assets, according to State Bureau of Investigation.
The corruption scheme involved the chief of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Medical and Social Expertise Center and her son who holds a senior position in the Pension Fund of Ukraine in Khmelnytskyi.
During the raids, the DBR detectives discovered $100,000 along with fake medical records of the individuals the suspects allegedly were helping with getting exemptions from military service.
The haul in the suspects’ apartment was even more impressive- detectives uncovered $5.2 million, €300,000, 5 million hryvnias, and luxury jewelry, all of them stashed around the cluttered place.
“Law enforcement found cash hidden in nearly every corner of the apartment—in closets, drawers, and niches,” DBR officials reported.
Investigators also seized documents hinting at money laundering through the family business projects. In a twist that reminded of Hollywood movies, the disgraced official even tried to throwing of the window two bags with a half a million dollars out of the window.
The officials reportedly own 30 real estate properties in Khmelnytskyi, Lviv, and Kyiv, nine luxury vehicles, corporate rights worth 48 million hryvnias, and even a hotel in Khmelnytskyi. They also hold unspecified assets in Austria, Spain, and Turkey, with $2.3 million in foreign bank accounts.
Unsurprisingly, none of these assets were declared in their annual income statements. The pre-trial investigation continues, as investigators work to track other officials and family members involved in the corruption ring.
Charges can include fraud, money laundering, false asset declarations, and illegal enrichment, carrying penalties of up to 12 years in prison with the confiscation of all assets.
In my previous column, I wrote about social innovations in Ukraine. Those innovations are part of civic resilience and the democratization of security, which Europe is paying close attention to right now. The EU is trying to work out how to spread responsibility for its own security across society as a whole, rather than leaving it to institutions alone. It is looking for concrete ways to bring ordinary people into the work of defense and resistance.
Petro Poroshenko’s lawyers have appealed to the High Anti-Corruption Court demanding that NABU be obligated to register proceedings regarding the fact of exerting influence on the court and to recognize Petro Poroshenko as a victim in the case of the Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Iryna Mudra, due to her pressure on Supreme Court judges who were considering a lawsuit to overturn sanctions.
Internationally recognized brands and financial institutions should direct capital to Ukraine now, not waiting for the hostilities to end. This was emphasized by Rinat Akhmetov, president of FC Shakhtar, during a working visit to UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, where he met with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.
In recent days, Moscow’s official rhetoric has been dominated by hysteria over the decision of…
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.