Alleged Crimes of Volodymyr Syvkovych
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), State Bureau of Investigation (DBR), and Prosecutor General’s Office have uncovered fresh charges against former National Security and Defense Council (RNBO) deputy secretary Volodymyr Syvkovych, who is currently evading authorities overseas. The case centers on the misappropriation of an unfinished Republican Clinical Hospital complex and a 21.36-hectare plot of land in Kyiv, with a combined estimated value of 300 million hryvnias (approximately $7.3 million).
Syvkovych and his accomplices allegedly operated the scheme from 2006 to 2021. They fabricated a debt owed by the hospital’s construction client, enlisting officials from a state enterprise and a controlled organization in Kyiv. A contractor signed a 30 million hryvnia deal with the state-owned developer, but the private company failed to fulfill its obligations, creating liabilities for the state contractor. The suspects then sold corporate rights to the design firm along with the claim to the artificial debt, effectively seizing the hospital property in exchange for debt cancellation.
Court Cases and Ties to Russian Intelligence
A court is currently reviewing a case to return the long-unfinished construction to state ownership. Syvkovych and two business partners have already been notified of suspicion under multiple articles of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, including fraud, money laundering, and abuse of office. Following searches, a lawyer for a private company involved in the deal on Syvkovych’s behalf was also charged.
Additionally, Syvkovych is suspected of high treason and collaboration with Russia’s FSB. In coordination with Andriy Klyuyev, he allegedly recruited Ukrainian citizens for subversive activities. The pair compiled lists of pro-Russian individuals for occupation authorities. Former SBU Crimea chief Oleh Kulinich, who maintained contact with Syvkovych under the alias 'Kotyhoroshko' during the 2022 invasion, was reportedly aware of Russia’s attack on February 24, 2022, but failed to alert SBU leadership.
In September 2023, lawmaker Nestor Shufrych was charged with treason for carrying out Syvkovych’s tasks. Syvkovych fled to Moscow in 2014, and a pre-trial investigation against him is scheduled to conclude by February 2026. Possessing sensitive information, he began working for Russian intelligence, tasked with recruiting prominent Ukrainian political figures, shaping public opinion, and spreading Kremlin narratives.
This case is a key element in broader investigations into corruption and betrayal in Ukraine, particularly amid the ongoing war with Russia.
It highlights systemic governance failures and the urgent need for continued anti-corruption efforts at all levels, while exposing potential links between Ukrainian politicians and Russian security services. The ongoing legal proceedings could have significant implications for the country’s political landscape.