Charity for pensioners, Cartier for himself: a look at the lifestyle of the entourage of controversial former prosecutor Dmytro Verbytskyi in photos
It’s incredibly difficult to be the subject of an anti-corruption investigation when you spend hours convincing journalists and months proving to judges that you’re an upstanding citizen, only to have a single photo of your girlfriend on social media ruin your entire defense strategy.
This is exactly the predicament that the controversial former Deputy Prosecutor General Dmytro Verbytsky found himself in. He simply took his girlfriend, Khristina Ilnytska, to a restaurant, and the short-sighted influencer took the opportunity to show off an elite watch and bracelet worth over 40,000 euros.
Photos published by the cats_and_watches community captured a veritable jewelry collection on the wrist of the head of the NGO “Youth of the Fatherland”:
- A Rolex Datejust 36 (a model with an olive-colored dial and gold accents) worth approximately 20,200 euros.
- A Cartier Montre Baignoire (an elegant model in a yellow gold case) for 21,000 euros.
This public display of luxury occurred at the most inopportune moment for Verbytsky—immediately following his extensive media tour, during which he attempted to clear his name.
An interview about his father, the captain
Just last week, Verbytsky gave a lengthy phone interview in which he spent over an hour arguing that he is not a corrupt official. He attributed the family’s wealth to his affluent family background, claiming that his father was a captain on long-distance voyages and earned $10,000 a month. At the same time, according to the former prosecutor, his mother “simply threw away the property documents while cleaning.” Verbytskyi described his use of Ilnytska’s luxury Porsche Macan as “a matter of etiquette” (“I just get behind the wheel”), and blamed all the miscalculations on the NACP, which “doesn’t know how to use a calculator.”
Courts and Political Maneuvers
These justifications, made with the help of journalists, came amid ongoing legal battles. Earlier, the Kyiv District Administrative Court denied Verbytsky’s lawsuit against the NACP, confirming the agency’s right to monitor the prosecutor’s lifestyle and that of his relatives. Currently, the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal has opened proceedings on Verbytskyi’s appeal to review this decision.
In parallel with the court proceedings, the former prosecutor, whom the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) suspects of illicit enrichment, decided to launch a political career and officially joined the All-Ukrainian Union “Fatherland” party. However, new photos of his girlfriend wearing watches with a combined market value exceeding 1.8 million hryvnias clearly demonstrate the opposite.
“The Land of Goodness” in Hermès accessories
The fact that this couple tries to wrap their elite wealth in a patriotic veneer and concern for the underprivileged adds a special touch of sarcasm to their actions. On their social media pages, Dmytro Verbytskyi and Khrystyna Ilnytska actively report on their aid to the elderly. Both have their own charitable foundations: Verbytsky’s “Land of Goodness” Foundation and the Khristina Ilnytska Foundation. Together, they distribute basic first-aid kits with the cheapest medicines, Easter cakes, and other small items to pensioners.
Ilnytska posts her reports on aid to the underprivileged using a top-of-the-line iPhone 17 Pro Max. In recent selfies featuring her foundation’s logo, the “philanthropist” poses in a black suit, with a Hermès leather belt featuring a gold buckle (the price in boutiques for thin Hermès Kelly or Constance belts averages $1,050–$1,300), and on her wrist is a recognizable bracelet from the Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry house (Alhambra series), the cost of which starts at 5,000 euros.
Thus, just Khristina’s modest “selfie kit” costs as much as the annual budget of a small village club.
As a reminder, the UA.NEWS editorial team submitted an official request to the Kyiv District Administrative Court (KDAC). Journalists are trying to determine why the materials of the high-profile case involving former Deputy Prosecutor General Dmytro Verbytskyi have not yet been transferred to the appellate court, which may indicate attempts to delay the proceedings.
Additionally, former Deputy Prosecutor General Dmytro Verbytskyi has been linked to influence schemes featured in the so-called “Mindich tapes.” This is stated in a post by politician Boryslav Bereza, published amid renewed discussions of the recordings, which mention the names of officials and businessmen and discuss personnel decisions within government agencies.
