- NABU in Ukraine seized $1.5 million worth of cryptocurrency from Yury Shchigol, a former public official, as part of an investigation into misappropriation of government funds
- Shchigol and his deputy allegedly conspired with private firms to overpay them by $18 million for software and services to avoid an open auction
- The seizure highlights anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine and the ability of law enforcement to track and seize crypto assets in investigations of potential wrongdoing
The Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) announced on Thursday that it has seized $1.5 million worth of cryptocurrency assets from Yury Shchigol, a former chief of Ukraine’s Special Communications Service. The seized assets include 69 BTC, 12 million USDT, and 331 TRX.
Details of the Seizure
According to NABU, the seizure is part of an ongoing investigation into Shchigol and his deputy Victor Zhor for allegedly misappropriating government funds through overpaying two private firms for software and services. NABU states that Shchigol and Zhor conspired with the firms to avoid an open auction and overpay them by $18 million.
The firms were paid 285 million hryvnias ($7.8 million) when the purchased goods and services actually only cost 223 million hryvnias ($6.1 million) when sourced from a foreign provider. Shchigol and Zhor pocketed the difference, according to NABU.
On Wednesday, Zhor was arrested, as reported by Ukrainian news agency RBC.
Ukrainian Officials and Crypto
Ukrainian public officials have previously been known to hold substantial cryptocurrency assets. In 2021, various civil servants reported owning 46,351 bitcoin worth $2.7 billion at the time.
The 19-year old son of two national parliament members, himself a local politician, reported owning $246 million worth of Monero in 2021.
Conclusion
The seizure of cryptocurrency from Shchigol highlights the ongoing anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine, as well as the prevalence of crypto ownership among politically-connected individuals in the country. The case also underscores the ability of law enforcement to track and seize crypto assets when investigating potential wrongdoing.
