On September 29, 2026, in the case concerning the misappropriation of funds from Ukrzaliznytsia JSC and the legalization of criminally obtained property, the prosecutor moved to sever the materials concerning the scheme's organizer, Artem Shylo, and another defendant, Kostiantyn Melnyk. The reason: agreements had been reached with both.
The HACC judge granted the motion and severed the materials concerning Shylo into separate proceedings.
It also emerged that on September 24, 2026, the HACC approved a plea agreement with Oleksandr Kovaliuk, Shylo's accomplice. Its text is classified, so the terms remain unknown for now. Another defendant, realtor Oleksandr Liskovatskyi, also wants to enter into an agreement, but the court has not yet approved it.
The case against Shylo, Melnyk, Kovaliuk, and Liskovatskyi was sent to the HACC on charges of misappropriation through abuse of office and money laundering (Article 191(5) and Article 209(2), (3) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
According to investigators, between June and December 2022, Shylo used Ukrzaliznytsia JSC officials under his control to secure the selection of a predetermined company as the supplier of power transformers. The procurement was carried out at significantly inflated prices. The equipment was bought from an Uzbek manufacturer through a Bulgarian shell company and resold to Ukrzaliznytsia at double the price. The defendants legalized UAH 12 million of the proceeds.
Investigators also established that Shylo, the organizer of the “back office,” spent more than UAH 173 million obtained through criminal schemes on luxury real estate (a penthouse, apartments, houses, and commercial property), which he registered in the names of people under his control.
In total, the case comprised three episodes, which are now being heard separately: abuses in the procurement of cables, the procurement of transformers, and the legalization of funds.
The episode concerning the procurement of cable and wiring products, involving MP Viktor Bondar, is currently at the preparatory hearing stage. The co-participants in this episode include Oleksii Onysymiuk, former deputy director of the Production Support Center branch of Ukrzaliznytsia JSC, and entrepreneur Ihor Butanov. The alleged criminal acts caused Ukrzaliznytsia losses of more than UAH 140 million, which the participants misappropriated and disposed of at their own discretion. The HACC has also approved plea agreements with two other defendants in this episode, Volodymyr Dovbenko and Oleh Melnyk; their terms are not yet known.
Several participants in this episode struck deals at the pre-trial investigation stage: Volodymyr Kotliar (the scheme's organizer, according to investigators), Serhii Kotliarenko, and Yevhen Zaivei. Under these agreements, UAH 71 million was paid to UZ in compensation for damages, UAH 95 million went to the state in fines, and a further UAH 25 million went to the needs of the Defense Forces of Ukraine.
The transformer procurement episode is at the trial stage. The defendants include entrepreneur Ihor Butanov; Oleksii Onysymiuk, deputy director of the Production Support Center branch of Ukrzaliznytsia JSC; Vladyslav Ivanov; and Artem Solodkin. As a result of this episode, carried out over 2022–2024, Ukrzaliznytsia suffered losses of almost UAH 100 million, which the perpetrators took and spent as they saw fit.
Two other defendants have admitted guilt and entered into plea agreements: Nataliia Koltasheva, director of the private company Uzelectro, who was extradited from Bulgaria, and Denys Khomiakov, a representative of Uzelectro. Under the agreements, UAH 2 million was paid to UZ in compensation for damages. The court also ordered the special confiscation of UAH 54.6 million to the state budget.
