The embezzlement of donor funds committed by a criminal group led by the former State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine was revealed thanks to an internal audit conducted in the ministry, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told journalists.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has always had and remains zero tolerance for manifestations of illegal activity - in particular, those related to corruption violations. The Ministry has never covered suspects. Today’s news from NABU is also partially the result of an internal audit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and cooperation of the Ministry with law enforcement agencies," the ministry emphasized.
Thus, during the audit of the ministry, the facts of possible misuse of certain amounts of aid, which were credited to the accounts at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, were confirmed by the State Audit Service of Ukraine.
"Relevant information was transferred by the ministry to law enforcement agencies. In the future, the ministry provided and continues to provide all necessary assistance in the work of law enforcement agencies in this case," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summarized.
As reported, NABU and SAPO exposed a group headed by the former State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose members took possession of the funds of foreign citizens and donors intended to support Ukraine at the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, and legalized them through conversion centers. The total amount of stolen funds amounted to more than UAH 37 million.
Among the suspects: former State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2020-2024), organizer of the scheme; former head of the office of the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, active diplomatic worker; advisor to the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, head of a controlled NGO; NGO’s accountant.
Oleksandr Bankov was the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from July 2020 to November 2024.
According to the Center for Anti-Corruption, among the suspects are also: ex-head of the state apparatus of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and acting adviser of the Permanent Representation of Ukraine at the UN Office in Geneva Ramiz Ramazanov; head of the controlled public organization Center for International Cooperation Assistance Vladyslav Reznikov; accountant of the public organization.
