The NABU and the SAPO accuse former adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine Artem Shylo and his accomplices of misappropriating funds from Ukrzaliznytsia JSC and laundering property obtained by criminal means.

According to the facts established by the investigation, the members of the criminal group were:

• the leader of the organized group — Artem Shylo, former adviser to the Office of the President of Ukraine and a former SSU employee;
• the co-organizer — Kostiantyn Melnyk;
• an accomplice — SSU employee Oleksandr Kovaliuk;
• an accomplice in the laundering of property — realtor Oleksandr Liskovatskyi.

The investigation established that between June and December 2022, Shylo, through controlled officials of Ukrzaliznytsia, secured the selection of a predetermined company as the supplier of power transformers. The procurement was carried out at significantly inflated prices. The products were procured from an Uzbek manufacturer through a shell company registered in Bulgaria and resold to Ukrzaliznytsia, with controlled intermediary companies involved, at double the inflated prices.

As a result of these shell-company manipulations, Ukrzaliznytsia incurred losses of around UAH 95 million — the money was misappropriated by the participants in the crime.

The case covers another episode — the procurement of cable and wiring products at inflated prices, which had been ongoing since October 2021. This procurement was organized and controlled by MP Viktor Bondar and private entrepreneur Volodymyr Kotliar.

Having established control over procurement at Ukrzaliznytsia, the organized group led by Artem Shylo guaranteed MP Bondar and private entrepreneur Kotliar the possibility of further supplies of these products at inflated prices — but on the condition that they “share” the misappropriated funds by handing over 7% of the procurement volume.

In pursuit of their criminal intent, over 2021–2022 Bondar and Kotliar arranged for companies under their control to win Ukrzaliznytsia's tenders for the supply of cable and wiring products.

According to the investigation, as a result of these criminal schemes, Ukrzaliznytsia was caused losses of more than UAH 140 million.

Shylo did not stop there. According to the investigation, he decided to launder money obtained by criminal means — more than UAH 173 million, acquired by him roughly between 2016 and 2021 during his service in the security bodies. He invested part of this money in the purchase of elite residential and commercial real estate in the Pecherskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts of Kyiv, and transferred the rest to the accounts of controlled individuals under the guise of payment for beauty salon services. All these fictitious transfers were controlled personally by Shylo through a trusted person.

At the stage of laundering this money, according to the investigation, a new participant joined the criminal group — realtor Oleksandr Liskovatskyi. He advised Shylo, provided the means, and removed obstacles in the illegal activity: he registered real estate in the names of front persons, understated its appraised value, and sought out financial institutions that did not scrutinize too closely the origin of the funds directed toward acquiring these assets.

The investigation also established that the co-organizer, Kostiantyn Melnyk, laundered part of the funds received from the supplier of cable and wiring products. He did so by disposing of and concealing them, disguising their origin through an enterprise under his control.

The actions of Shylo, Melnyk, Kovaliuk, and Liskovatskyi were classified under Article 191(5) and Article 209(2), (3) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Where are the cases on the procurement of cables and transformers?

Both episodes — the procurement of cable and wiring products and of transformers — have been with the HACC since March 2026.

The investigation established that MP Viktor Bondar, using his connections with Ukrzaliznytsia officials responsible for production procurement, conspired with Kyiv businessman Volodymyr Kotliar, the owner of Enei company and the HIT football club. Together, they organized the supply of products at inflated prices, thereby profiting from the overpayment for goods.

According to the investigation, the essence of the scheme was that in 2021 Kotliar developed a mechanism for supplying cable products for Ukrzaliznytsia's needs through companies under his control. It was he who reached an arrangement with Shylo's “back office.”

Over 2021–2023, a number of enterprises controlled by Kotliar won Ukrzaliznytsia's tenders for the supply of cable and wiring products. They were not manufacturers, however, but purchased the goods through shell companies, artificially inflating the price to 1.5–2 times above the market level.

To conceal the real cost of the products, Kotliar and his accomplices pressured manufacturers, forcing them to provide inflated data on market prices.

According to the investigation, the organizer of this scheme was Volodymyr Kotliar. It was he who controlled the enterprises that supplied cables for the railway at inflated prices.

Kotliar later expressed a willingness to admit his guilt and conclude a plea agreement. However, the proceedings were classified to prevent the disclosure of information from the pre-trial investigation, since the individuals in the case undertook to provide incriminating testimony against the other members of the criminal group. The terms of the plea agreement with the organizer of the criminal scheme therefore remain unknown for now.

The other episode, in which MP Viktor Bondar and others are charged, is currently at the stage of preparatory proceedings.

The case concerning the procurement of transformers has already moved to the trial stage. In it, too, some individuals admitted their guilt and entered into agreements with the investigation, in particular the extradited Nataliia Koltasheva and a representative of the Uzelectro company, Denys Khomiakov.

Among those charged in the episode concerning the procurement of transformers:

• Artem Solodkin — entrepreneur, owner of SKS Medical Group LLC;
• Ihor Butanov — entrepreneur, member of Shylo's group;
• Oleksii Onysymiuk — former deputy director of the Production Support Center branch of Ukrzaliznytsia;
• Vladyslav Ivanov.