The National Police have uncovered schemes involving the misappropriation of 27 million hryvnias of humanitarian aid in the Kyiv region
In the spring of 2022, following the de-occupation of settlements in the Kyiv region, the state allocated budget funds for emergency aid to the civilian population. Charitable and community organisations were involved in the process to ensure the rapid delivery of aid.
According to the investigation, part of these funds was used in a criminal scheme. Law enforcement officers established that the organiser was a lawyer and head of a law firm. He enlisted the help of acquaintances, who were responsible for specific areas of the operation.
Investigators from the Main Investigation Directorate and operatives from the National Police’s Department of Strategic Investigations established that the group’s members sought out individuals to act as nominal heads of charitable and public organisations, opened bank accounts, and arranged for the processing of fictitious transactions and the signing of the necessary documents.
The suspects used controlled charitable organisations to obtain state funds intended to assist the civilian population of de-occupied communities in the Kyiv region. They submitted letters to the Ministry of Social Policy’s commission proposing the provision of humanitarian aid, in which they outlined the communities’ needs for food, generators and essential goods.
Once the decisions were approved, the funds were transferred to the accounts of organisations under their control. This money was then to be used for the purchase and delivery of humanitarian aid.
According to the investigation, the participants in the scheme diverted a significant portion of the funds received to the accounts of controlled enterprises.
To conceal their actions, reports containing false information were submitted to the Ministry of Social Policy. The documents stated that the humanitarian aid had allegedly been delivered in full and used for its intended purpose. In reality, according to police data, the goods declared were delivered to the communities only partially or not at all.
The investigation established that between March and July 2022, the group’s members carried out at least three instances of embezzlement of state funds. The total amount of losses exceeds 26.9 million hryvnias.
According to the investigation, the suspects used the misappropriated funds to purchase two premium-class cars, four flats in Kyiv and two plots of land in the Kyiv region.
Law enforcement officers carried out more than two dozen searches at the suspects’ places of residence. During the investigative operations, financial documentation, electronic data storage devices and other evidence were seized.
In February and May 2026, seven members of the criminal group were served with notices of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — misappropriation, embezzlement or acquisition of property through abuse of official position.
The offence carries a maximum sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment.
Law enforcement agencies are currently identifying other individuals who may have been involved in organising and operating the scheme, as well as investigating the role of those who may have coordinated or facilitated its activities.
The investigation was conducted under the procedural supervision of the Office of the Prosecutor General.
