Former lawmaker Demchak, suspected of stock market manipulation, has been extradited to Ukraine

Germany and Italy have extradited two individuals to Ukraine who had been trying for years to evade responsibility for economic crimes involving millions. This was reported by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who did not disclose the names of the extradited individuals. According to Ua.News, one of the extradited individuals is Ruslan Demchak, a former member of the Ukrainian Parliament of the 8th convocation, and the other is the former head of the finance department of a private company, whose name has not been officially disclosed.

Former Member of Parliament Ruslan Demchak, who was detained in Germany in January at the request of the State Bureau of Investigations, has been returned to Ukraine to face charges in court. He is charged with aiding and abetting stock market manipulation and money laundering.

According to investigators, in 2017, with the direct involvement of the former MP, 71 cyclical transactions involving domestic government bonds (OVDP) were carried out through brokerage firms. These transactions had a predetermined outcome, creating only the appearance of legally obtained investment income. In this way, the organizers of the scheme laundered 19.8 million hryvnias.

In August 2023, Demchak was officially notified of the charges against him, and after he left the country and was placed on an international wanted list in October 2024, the court imposed a pretrial detention order on him in absentia. In October 2025, law enforcement authorities received authorization to conduct a special pretrial investigation. Currently, the materials of the criminal proceedings have already been made available to the defense for review, after which the indictment will be submitted to the court. At the same time, another case against Demchak—filed by NABU in February 2025—is already pending in court; it concerns the illegal receipt of compensation for renting accommodations at the “Kyiv” hotel.

The second person extradited was the former head of the finance department of a Ukrainian company, who was handed over to the competent authorities by Italy. According to Ruslan Kravchenko, this outcome is a landmark for the Ukrainian justice system, as it is only the third successful extradition approved by the Italian side since 2022.

The official is suspected of large-scale embezzlement of funds belonging to the company and its shareholder. In addition, according to the investigation, he used forged documents to secure a loan from a foreign bank. The total amount of losses caused by his actions is estimated at nearly 944 thousand U.S. dollars. A pretrial investigation is currently underway against him in Ukraine.

Source: Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.  

In August 2023, the Office of the Prosecutor General notified former People’s Deputy Ruslan Demchak of the “Petro Poroshenko Bloc” Ruslan Demchak that he was suspected of aiding and abetting stock market manipulation and the laundering of criminally obtained funds. The outcome of this case is unknown.

In April 2024, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) placed Demchak on its wanted list in connection with a case involving the illegal receipt of funds from the state budget for housing rent. In April 2025, the court approved a plea agreement that Demchak had reached with the prosecutor in this case. The court sentenced him to three years in prison but suspended the sentence with a one-year probation period. He also reimbursed 800,000 UAH in damages and donated 2 million UAH to charity.

Throughout this time, Demchak stated on social media that he had been serving as an economic advisor at the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Korea since 2021 and had been filing the corresponding income declarations since 2022, most recently in September 2025, prior to his dismissal.

In 2024, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau issued a warrant for the arrest of former People’s Deputy Ruslan Demchak. He is suspected of abuse of power or official position.

Prosecutors notified Ruslan Demchak, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament of the 8th convocation from the BPP party, of their suspicion that he aided and abetted stock market manipulation and the legalization of criminally obtained assets in August 2023.