The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and Ukraine’s judicial system have found themselves at the center of a major scandal involving attempts to release over $1 million in equivalent cash from arrest. The seized funds are key evidence in an illicit enrichment case involving officials of the State Ecological Inspection (SEI) of the Prydniprovia District. According to investigation materials, the suspects used straw donors who provided coordinated false testimony to the court in an effort to unblock the seized cash.
An SBI investigation into the leadership of the Prydniprovia District SEI has exposed a large-scale extortion scheme. According to investigators, officials organized a system to pressure local businesses: following fabricated complaints, inspectors would conduct site visits and pressure enterprises into signing waste disposal contracts with companies controlled by the SEI leadership in exchange for covering up environmental violations.
The central figure in the case is Liliya Chygrykova, head of the Dnipro District Department of the SEI. She is accused of acquiring illicit assets worth UAH 46 million. Among the assets discovered by law enforcement were:
An apartment exceeding 100 m² in a premium residential complex;
A BMW 520i passenger car registered under a relative’s name;
Undeclared cash totaling $880,000 and €201,500 seized during searches.
Following her arrest, Chygrykova was remanded in custody with bail set at UAH 30 million. This amount was later slashed by an appeals court to UAH 908,000, allowing the suspect to leave the detention facility.
In December 2025, a citizen identified as Ihor Zh. approached the SBI, claiming that the seized millions belonged to him. He asserted that he had handed the cash to Chygrykova for safekeeping before traveling abroad due to their «close personal relationship.» To prove his financial capability, he provided records of his official income spanning the last 20 years.
On January 27, Kyiv’s Pechersky District Court Judge Serhiy Vovk lifted the freeze on the funds. However, on February 9, Judge Svitlana Shaputko re-imposed the arrest following new evidence presented by the SBI.
From covert investigative records:
Law enforcement intercepted messages and conversations showing Chygrykova coordinating the details of their «friendship» and court narrative with Ihor Zh. The official went as far as asking for his photo, date of birth, and home address, as she had never actually met him in person.
The claimant’s ex-wife also debunked the existence of such substantial savings, stating he reinvested all profits into his business. Ihor Zh. has since been charged with perjury, and his indictment has been forwarded to court.
Despite the collapse of the first cover story, efforts to recover the cash did not stop. Just two days after the first proxy’s case was sent to court, a new petition from a different individual was filed with the Pechersky District Court.
This new claimant presented copies of land sale contracts worth UAH 75 million, claiming he gradually converted these funds into foreign currency and transferred them to the SEI official for safekeeping via a mutual acquaintance.
On June 30, Pechersky Court Judge Svitlana Grechana sustained the petition and lifted the arrest on the millions for a second time. Law enforcement agencies are currently reviewing the legitimacy of this ruling and the origin of the notarized documents, while the broader investigation into the environmental inspection’s corruption ring continues.