Anti-corruption investigators are examining the assets of the family of Yuriy Shchyhol, the former head of the State Special Communications Service
Ukrainian banks have received a request from anti-corruption activists to search for bank accounts and transactions made in favor of or on behalf of Yuriy Shchyhol, as well as members of his family. This likely refers to the head of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, a position Yuriy Fedorovych Shchyhol held from 2020 to 2023.
On November 22, 2023, Shchyhol was removed from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s Staff by a presidential decree, a position he had held for several years. This occurred after officials from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) notified Shchygol, the head of the State Service for Special Communications, that he was suspected of embezzling over 60 million hryvnias in state funds during the procurement of software.
Sources told UA.News about the start of the investigation.
The relevant request asks for information regarding the existence of accounts, their numbers, the balances in those accounts, transactions conducted through them, the purpose of payments, the counterparty’s identification details, the counterparty’s account number, and the counterparty’s bank code.
The anti-corruption agency is also interested in the balances of securities and other assets in the Shchyhol family’s accounts, details regarding fund transfers between accounts, the purpose of payments, the counterparty’s account numbers, and the counterparty’s code as a professional participant in the capital market and organized commodity markets.
Declaration
As of today, there are no publicly available declarations filed directly by Yuriy Fedorovych Shchygol as the declarant. This means that they have either been removed from public access during martial law or are unavailable for other reasons. However, there is a declaration filed by his wife, Oksana Viktorivna Shchyhol.
This document for 2017 states that the family owns six land plots with a total area of 11,600 square meters.
At that time, the family was also living in his father-in-law’s house, which had an area of 121 square meters. According to the declaration, as of 2017, the future head of the State Special Communications Service did not own his own home.
Allegations
On November 20, 2023, officials from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) notified Yuriy Shchyhol, head of the State Special Communications Service, that he was suspected of embezzling over 60 million hryvnias. At that time, bail was set at 25 million hryvnias. Two deputies from the “Servant of the People” party—Oleksandr Fedienko and Mykhailo Kryachko—arrived at the hearing of the High Anti-Corruption Court and were prepared to vouch for Shchyhol.
Since anti-corruption authorities have been unable to refer Shchyhol’s case to court, the bail amount, as of November 2025, had been reduced from 25 million hryvnias to 15.14 million.
According to media reports citing the investigation, in 2020, Roman Koval, the owner of a group of companies, discussed potential schemes within the agency with Viktor Zhor, who was at the time a candidate for the position of deputy head of the State Special Communications Service. In January 2021, Zhora was appointed deputy head of the State Special Communications Service for digital development, digital transformation, and digitization. They subsequently recruited the agency’s head, Shchyhol, the head of the state-owned enterprise “Ukrainian Special Systems” (controlled by the State Special Communications Service), Artur Vitrenko, and an employee of the agency into their conspiracy.
As part of the conspiracy, Koval, Zhora, and Shchyhol designated three private companies—“Sember Trade,” “Inside Solutions,” and “Billingtech”—as the winning bidders, a full six months before the procurement process even began. The procurement process itself was classified; “Billingtech” was ostensibly a competitor, while the first two companies had been predetermined as the winners. The state-owned enterprise “USS” entered into contracts with “Sember Trade” and “Inside Solutions” for the supply of software and services and transferred funds totaling over 285 million hryvnias in 2021–2022.
However, an expert examination determined that the actual cost of the software, which the companies purchased from a foreign manufacturer, was 223 million hryvnias, and the difference of over 62 million hryvnias was embezzled by the participants in the crime. These funds were transferred to accounts of affiliated companies in Hungary and the United States for the purpose of laundering and distributing them among members of the organized group.
As a reminder, anti-corruption activists have initiated an investigation into the lifestyle of Oleksandr Gusarov, head of the Pechenizka Special Administrative District.
Anti-corruption authorities are conducting a full audit of the 2024 asset declaration of law enforcement officer Lyudmyla Gulak. As part of the investigation, anti-corruption authorities are demanding that banking institutions disclose financial information not only about the official herself but also about her family members.
