The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine have completed their pre-trial investigation and forwarded the case against former SBU Cyber Security Department Director Illia Vitiuk to court. The ex-official is formally accused of corruption-related offenses, specifically illicit enrichment and submitting false asset declarations involving multi-million-hryvnia sums.
According to the investigation, in December 2023, the high-ranking SBU official acquired an apartment with a market value of 21.6 million hryvnias, though the official purchase agreement stated a significantly lower amount of 12.8 million hryvnias. To bypass regulatory scrutiny, the property was registered under a family member’s name.
To justify the source of funds, the family utilized a sole proprietorship (FOP) framework. The relative registered as an entrepreneur and allegedly began providing legal and consulting services starting in February 2022.
During the financial audit, NABU detectives uncovered the true origin of the funds flowing into the sole proprietorship’s accounts. Public scrutiny and investigative journalism regarding the official’s lifestyle previously acted as a catalyst for a deeper anti-corruption inquiry.
Investigators discovered that the money originated not from legitimate business operations, but from an individual currently suspected of embezzling funds from JSC Ukrzaliznytsia as part of a criminal organization. Transactions were additionally routed through companies under the control of this suspect.
«The gathered evidence indicates that these services were never provided, and the companies exhibit signs of being fictitious,» the SAP press service emphasized.
Furthermore, investigators found a complete lack of proof regarding the legal origin of the remaining 8.8 million hryvnias used to finance the purchase of the luxury Kyiv apartment.
Following the conclusions of the pre-trial probe, the actions of the former cyber security chief have been classified under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
Article 368-5 (Illicit enrichment);
Part 2 of Article 366-2 (Declaration of false information).
The case will now be heard by the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine (HACC), where SAP prosecutors will present evidence of the former official’s guilt. If convicted, he faces a custodial sentence alongside asset confiscation and a ban on holding public office.