Sanctioned businessman Yuriy Kushnir and Chernivtsi Regional Council MP Ivan Semenyuk were recently spotted at an informal gathering in the Boyany community, Chernivtsi Oblast. The public appearance of both prominent local figures has drawn widespread attention, as both remain linked to high-profile criminal investigations involving corruption, substantial financial damage to the state, and alleged illegal natural resource extraction.
Yuriy Kushnir, historically regarded as a key figure in the region’s cross-border logistics and trade, has received two separate guilty verdicts from the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) over the past year and a half:
Customs Fraud Schemes: In September 2024, the HACC found Kushnir guilty in a major corruption scheme at the Vadul-Siret customs post. According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), commercial trucks transporting Turkish apparel and footwear were fraudulently declared as empty or carrying low-value cover goods. The total damages to the state budget reached 290 million UAH, with Kushnir personally implicated in 83.26 million UAH in unpaid import duties and taxes. Having pled guilty, he received a sentence of 4 years and 9 months, suspended with a 3-year probation period, along with a temporary ban on export-import operations.
Bribery Conviction: In February 2025, Kushnir received his second conviction for providing a $180,000 bribe to Ivan Muntyan, the former chairman of the Chernivtsi Regional Council, to secure a long-term lease for the «Brusnytsia» health resort. Following a plea agreement with prosecutors, Kushnir was sentenced to 6 years in prison, which was similarly suspended under probation. The Supreme Court of Ukraine upheld this verdict in January 2026.
In addition to his court convictions, Kushnir was placed on the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) sanctions list in 2021 due to suspected involvement in large-scale smuggling operations. In 2024, the sanctions were extended for three years. Notably, official presidential decree documents identified the former Ukrainian citizen, Yuriy Radulovych Kushnir, as a Romanian passport holder under the name Cusnir Iurie.
The second attendee, Ivan Semenyuk, serves as a Chernivtsi Regional Council MP and acts as the director and co-owner of «Rodnychok» LLC. The enterprise is entirely family-controlled: Semenyuk holds 41.96%, his wife Alina Semenyuk owns 37.42%, and the remaining 20.62% is held by his firm, «Bukovyna Business Group».
Since February 2026, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have been conducting a pre-trial investigation under criminal proceeding No. 62026240050000362. The charges involve Part 2 of Article 364 (Abuse of Power or Official Position) and Part 3 of Article 240 (Violation of Subsurface Protection and Usage Rules) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Investigators allege that officials from «Rodnychok» LLC conspired with representatives of the State Geocadastre and local environmental inspection bodies to illegally extract sand and gravel mix from unlawfully occupied land plots in the Boyany community. Law enforcement authorities continue to verify the circumstances surrounding the meeting and identify all individuals present.