The NABU and the SAPO have charged MP Viktor Bondar and his associates with embezzling funds from Ukrzaliznytsia through a scheme involving the procurement of cable and wire products at inflated prices.

According to the prosecution, Bondar and his associate, businessman Volodymyr Kotliar, devised a scheme to supply Ukrzaliznytsia with products at above-market prices. To execute it, they colluded with members of a second organized group led by Artem Shylo — former freelance adviser to the head of the Presidential Office and former First Deputy Head of a Security Service of Ukraine department. Acting as a “back office,” Shylo's group exercised informal control over Ukrzaliznytsia's operations and, in exchange for a percentage of the procurement value, could secure contract awards for Bondar's associates. 

As a result, during 2021–2022, the associates' companies unlawfully won Ukrzaliznytsia cable procurement tenders. With the assistance of Ukrzaliznytsia officials, the companies coordinated their actions during the tenders and inflated expected product costs through various means. Ukrzaliznytsia then signed contracts with the controlled companies, which supplied products at above-market prices. Total losses to Ukrzaliznytsia exceeded UAH 140 million; part of the proceeds was laundered and used at the group's discretion.

On March 4, 2026, the SAPO submitted the indictment against Viktor Bondar and the remaining co-defendants to court. They are:

1. Oleksii Onysymiuk — former Deputy Director of Ukrzaliznytsia's Production Support Center branch

2. Ihor Butanov — member of the Shylo group, charged in 2023 with providing an unlawful benefit to Onysymiuk

3. Volodymyr Dovbenko and Oleh Melnyk — accomplices of the Bondar group. Also implicated in the scheme was Bondar's mother, Halyna Bondar, who was listed as the owner of Ukrcable LLC, Ukrcable-Kyiv Trading House LLC, and other companies. Volodymyr Dovbenko and Oleh Melnyk were co-owners of those and other firms involved in the scheme.

The defendants' actions were charged under Article 191(5) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Three participants — Volodymyr Kotliar (alleged organizer), Serhii Kotliarenko, and Yevhen Zaivei — were separated into a distinct proceeding, in which HACC approved a plea agreement. Under its terms, UAH 71 million was paid in compensation to Ukrzaliznytsia, UAH 95 million in fines was paid to the state, and a further UAH 25 million was directed to Ukraine's defense forces.