7 suspects listed in Ukrainian Railways corruption scandal

Seven people have been listed as suspects in a corruption scheme connected to Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia), the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) reported on April 3.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) first disclosed the investigation on April 2, during which is mentioned that a former advisor to Ukraine's Presidential Office is among the suspects.

The suspects, who have not been named, are accused of having embezzled Hr 95 million ($2.4 million) from Ukrzaliznytsia.

Aside from the former presidential advisor, the list of suspects includes two top Ukrzaliznytsia officials, a Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) officer, and three other people.

Ukrainska Pravda, citing unnamed sources, wrote that the former Presidential Office advisor is Artem Shylo. A source from NABU told the Kyiv Independent it could not comment at this time.

Shylo allegedly arranged the purchase of transformers for Ukrainian Railways at an artificially inflated price in 2022, following the beginning of the full-scale war.

The company that Shylo allegedly directed the contracts to was owned by a Belarusian citizen with connections to Russia, NABU said. The shell company, registered in Bulgaria, then reportedly purchased the transformers from Uzbekistan at double the sticker price.

The suspects then pocketed the difference, NABU said.

Investigators managed to seize Hr 53 million ($1.3 million) from the bank accounts of those suspected of carrying out the scheme.

Ukraine’s anti-corruption bureau makes progress yet doesn’t take on top presidential allies

As Ukraine’s civil society and the country’s Western partners call on the authorities to fight corruption amid Russia’s full-scale invasion, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) is showing mixed results. A year has passed since Semen Kryvonos became the head of the NABU in March 20…

The Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov