Prosecutors of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office with monthly salaries of over 200 thousand UAH receive hundreds of thousands of state aid — supposedly “to solve social and household issues.” Then they withdraw this money from Ukraine or hide it in electronic wallets with cryptocurrency. The same scheme is used by NABU detectives, according to the investigation by “Ukrainian News.”
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“Society has the right to demand explanations as to why high-ranking officials with monthly salaries of over 200 thousand hryvnias and millions in savings also receive hundreds of thousands in state “aid”. Formally, such payments are supposed to compensate for the social and everyday difficulties of civil servants. In fact, they have turned into an additional hidden bonus that is used for investments in expensive foreign assets, cryptocurrency, or other financial instruments,” the investigation states.
According to Ukrainian News, in August 2024, SAPO prosecutor Oleksandr Ivanyushchenko received UAH 162,392 in financial assistance from the state. On the same day, he declared the acquisition of ownership of iShares GSCI Commodity Dynamic Roll Strategy ETF securities from BlackRock (USA), which calls into question the intended use of this state payment, the journalists write.
“Prosecutor Ivanyushchenko actively invested in foreign stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies throughout 2024. His portfolio consists of expensive securities of global corporations (Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, Caterpillar), Turkish government bonds, and high-risk cryptocurrencies. In addition, at the end of the year he had $26,700, €15,000, and UAH 238,077 in cash,” they noted.
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In August of this year, the investigation reports, another SAPO prosecutor, Rostyslav Batyh, received material assistance in the amount of UAH 165,655.
“Even in the midst of the war and with the family having cash and savings in foreign currency, prosecutor Batyg invested funds in government bonds through his wife. This looks like a way to preserve and increase capital through “material assistance” from the SAP in the amount of UAH 165,655. In addition, at the end of 2024, Rostyslav Batyg reflects his own savings of USD 26,700 in cash, over UAH 216,574 in accounts at PrivatBank, UAH 26,463 in Universal Bank, and domestic government loan bonds. Batyg's significant cash savings (in foreign currency and on deposits), government bonds, and a high salary indicate that he is not in difficult social and living conditions,” Ukrainian News notes.
The authors of the investigation mentioned NABU detective Oleksandr Skomarov, who declared material assistance in the amount of UAH 152,167 in December 2023. In the same month, he also declared a number of transactions with cryptocurrencies, they stated.
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“In fact, within one week he combined the purchase of cryptocurrencies with receiving “social and household assistance”, which by law must be provided in cases of financial hardship or unforeseen expenses. At the same time, in 2025 his name repeatedly appeared in high-profile journalistic materials, where he was called an odious detective,” they emphasized.
Journalists are convinced that the examples of SAPO prosecutors Rostyslav Batyh and Oleksandr Ivanyushchenko and NABU detective Oleksandr Skomarov indicate a systemic problem.
“A logical and necessary step should be financial monitoring by the NACP. The agency should carefully check both the targeted use of material assistance and the ratio of income and expenses in the real life of these officials. Only such control can give society an answer as to whether the system of social support for prosecutors and detectives has turned into another bonus scheme at the expense of the budget,” the investigation by “Ukrainian News” concludes.
Previously, officials were named who, in addition to their salaries, receive pensions of one million hryvnias per year.
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