Case description
On March 18, 2025, the HACC found Serhii Pankush guilty. He acted as an intermediary and received $358,000 in cryptocurrency as an unlawful benefit, which he passed on to an officer of the Security Service of Ukraine.
According to the investigation, an SSU officer obtained certain information suggesting potential misconduct by a representative of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. He then decided to exploit this information for personal enrichment. Realizing he needed someone unrelated to law enforcement to avoid suspicion, he recruited civilian intermediary Pankush.
The conspirators developed an entire scenario to pressure the border guard officer for money. Through the intermediary, they informed the official that the SSU possessed information about his alleged corrupt activities, smuggling, and compromising personal details. They threatened to forward the data to other authorities for investigation or make it public. The threat, while indirect, gave the victim the impression of real risk of prosecution or reputational damage.
Pankush made direct contact with the official, introducing himself as someone with “connections” in the relevant agencies who could resolve the situation. Communication also took place via Telegram using fake accounts. The parties coordinated the amounts and method of transfer via these channels, including creating crypto wallets, setting up anonymous accounts, and maintaining the technical infrastructure.
Pankush gave the victim instructions for transferring cryptocurrency to a specific wallet and later confirmed receipt. He demanded $5,000 monthly in USDT, eventually setting a lump sum of $350,000.
After part of the money was transferred, Pankush converted the cryptocurrency into cash and handed it to the SSU officer, retaining a portion as his fee. Friends’ wallets were used for these exchanges. In total, the SSU officer, who remained behind the scenes and did not directly participate in the transfers, received $355,000 through Pankush, whose actions he coordinated.
Pankush was arrested by NABU officers immediately after receiving the funds. His actions were classified under Article 368(4) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He pleaded guilty, and the HACC approved a plea agreement, sentencing him to 8 years of imprisonment. However, he was released from serving the sentence and placed on a 3-year probation period. Of the UAH 3 million bail, UAH 2 million was transferred to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Pankush also committed to transferring an additional UAH 2 million to support the Armed Forces and to provide incriminating testimony in the case.
As a result, the NABU and the SAPO later issued a notice of suspicion to Oleksandr Marushchak, head of the Solomonovo border guard unit of the Chop detachment.
