Hetmantsev criticised the work of the new head of the ESBU: no results
The head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, Danylo Getmantsev, said that after the appointment of the new director, Oleksandr Tsivinsky, the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine has not shown the expected results. The MP said this in an interview, commenting on the current state of the ESBU's work, according to Unian.
According to Getmantsev, the Bureau still employs managers linked to corruption scandals, and personnel decisions are being delayed without any clear explanation. The MP also drew attention to the situation with the illegal market for electronics and tobacco products.
"We do not see any results yet. Moreover, we see that the same issue with Yabko and the illegal electronics market in general has not been resolved. We see that the situation on the tobacco market is deteriorating. We see that certain issues related to various abuses of taxation are also, unfortunately, not being investigated as quickly as we would like," Getmantsev said.
Getmantsev reminded that the reboot of the ESBU should not interfere with work on specific criminal proceedings in which evidence has already been gathered. He expressed hope that in the near future, the Bureau will be able to demonstrate real steps to stop criminal schemes. However, the reboot of the ESBU has been put on hold for now: for six months, Tsivinsky has been unable to determine how to evaluate detectives and analysts.
In addition, 1+1 TV channel journalist Yevgen Plinsky stated that the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine is unable to stop fraudulent businesses and called the situation regarding the fight against the illegal manufacture and distribution of cigarettes in Ukraine "tobacco chaos."
Previously, the deputy repeatedly called on the ESBU to speed up the investigation of high-profile cases. Criticism has also been voiced in the public sphere by journalists who claim that the agency is unable to effectively combat fraudulent businesses. Closing tax evasion schemes is one of the IMF's requirements. At the same time, according to the project "Monitoring of Illegal Trade in Tobacco Products in Ukraine" conducted by Kantar Ukraine, the share of illegal tobacco products has increased and reached 17.8% compared to 15.4% in July 2025, and budget losses from the shadow sale of electronics amount to 10 to 15 billion hryvnia annually.
According to estimates by the Growford Institute, the budget loses about 5 billion hryvnia annually due to the illegal market for electronic cigarettes. The International Monetary Fund recently emphasised that combating shadow schemes and tax evasion is a key condition for continuing financial support to Ukraine. Ukraine has promised the IMF to strengthen measures to combat the shadow economy, but losses from "grey" schemes in excise markets amount to 38 billion hryvnia per year.
"The Economic Security Bureau and the State Tax Service are also unable to cope with illegal petrol stations," said Danylo Getmantsev, Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy.
ESBU, Getmantsev, Verkhovna Rada, Plinsky, Tsivinsky, State Tax Service
