Charity for retirees, Cartier for himself: a look at the lifestyle of the inner circle of controversial former prosecutor Dmytro Verbytskyi in photos
It’s very 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 Verbytskyi found himself in. He simply took his partner, Khristina Ilnytska, to a restaurant, and the short-sighted influencer took the opportunity to show off a luxury 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-green dial and gold accents) worth approximately 20,200 euros.
- A Cartier Montre Baignoire (an elegant model with a yellow gold case) for 21,000 euros.
This public display of luxury came 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, Verbytskyi gave a lengthy phone interview in which he spent over an hour arguing that he is not corrupt. 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 National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NAZK), which “doesn’t know how to use a calculator.”
Courts and Political Maneuvers
These excuses, relayed through journalists, came amid ongoing legal battles. Earlier, the Kyiv District Administrative Court dismissed Verbytskyi’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—who is suspected by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) of illicit enrichment—decided to launch a political career and officially joined the “Batkivshchyna” 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
What makes this couple’s actions particularly ironic is that they try to wrap their elite wealth in a patriotic guise and a pretense of caring for the underprivileged. On their social media pages, Dmytro Verbytskyi and Khrystyna Ilnytska actively report on their efforts to help the elderly. They each have their own charitable foundation: Verbytskyi’s “Land of Goodness” Charitable Foundation and the Khrystyna Ilnytska Foundation. Together, they distribute basic first-aid kits containing the cheapest medicines, Easter cakes, and a few other small items to retirees.
Ilnytska posts her reports on aid to the underprivileged using a top-of-the-line iPhone 17 Pro Max. In her latest selfies featuring her foundation’s logo, the “philanthropist” poses in a black suit, wearing a leather Hermès belt with 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 in the high-profile case of former Deputy Prosecutor General Dmytro Verbytskyi have not yet been transferred to the appellate court, which may indicate attempts to drag out the proceedings.
A dissertation against corruption and renting from a friend: the controversial Dmytro Verbytskyi explains how he is evading mobilization and court proceedings
Instead of facing trial, the controversial former official is calmly sipping coffee today and building a political career, complaining to investigative journalists’ cameras: “I don’t live a lavish life, but I don’t live poorly either.” What’s more, it turns out that his luxurious home in the capital is simply an act of incredible friendly generosity. Commenting on the pittance he pays to rent a house in an elite cottage community, Verbytskyy looks journalists straight in the eye and assures them: “I’m renting it from a friend. Well, this isn’t a perk; these are average market rates for renting houses, uh, in this region. And this has been verified, uh, by NAZK officials.”
While the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NAZK) seem to be trying to find their way to court for the third year in a row, the former law enforcement official has found a foolproof way to avoid mobilization—he’s become a graduate student and is working on his dissertation. The topic of this academic work by a man with millions in unexplained assets is simply mockingly perfect: “anti-corruption legislation.” Asserting that “I’ve been studying my whole life,” the former prosecutor—who is practically a professor already—has already outlined his plans for the future: “I want to continue working at a university and pass on my knowledge.” And there’s certainly plenty to pass on—for example, a unique scheme for officially earning about $2,000 at the prosecutor’s office while receiving “birthday gifts” from relatives.
“Well, they helped out—they gave me gifts for my birthday, and that was my savings… Well, my mother could have given me $5,000,” the future luminary of science declares without a hint of embarrassment.
When the conversation turns to the origin of his family’s wealth, the classic, rock-solid legend of Ukrainian bureaucracy about wealthy relatives comes into play.
“My father was a captain on a long-haul ship. I think you understand how much a long-haul ship captain earns. Well, starting at $10,000 a month,” Verbytsky boasts. But for some reason, he refused to brag about his new Audi SQ8 worth 100 thousand greenbacks on camera, instantly switching to a tone of aggressive defense:
“Look, this car is registered in my name. You can look it up online. If you want, I’ll come to your studio, I’ll give you an interview, I’ll show you the documents. Show me the questions you want to ask. I’ll answer them. I’ll show you the documents. Conduct the interview objectively. I don’t like provocations like the one you’re pulling right now.” Verbytskyi now plans to scale up all this “anti-corruption” success in the world of big-time politics—he has taken the helm of the district branch of Yulia Tymoshenko’s party. However, even here the logic has gone out the window, because, in the words of the newly minted party member himself: “As of today, whether to go into politics or not—I’m not yet, let’s say, fully ready to go into politics. I am currently a party member and serve as the head of the branch in the Khadzhibeyevsky District. No, I do not sponsor the party.”
Under what exact conditions “Batkivshchyna” took in such a toxic figure remains an open question. For now, Dmytro Anatoliyovych feels so confident and immune from consequences that, instead of sitting in the dock, he’s attacking law enforcement officials himself: “I am currently in a legal battle with the NACP, since the NACP clearly stated in a publication that they found evidence of illicit enrichment on my part, that they identified the elements of a crime, and that all of this was acquired on my instructions.”
The former prosecutor actively flaunts his legal battles on Facebook, personally racking up hundreds of reposts under his own posts to create the illusion of support. However, the public does not find this amusing at all, because behind the facade of these absurd justifications and partisan manipulations, a sad reality is clearly evident: the Verbytsky case may simply be deliberately and artificially stalled behind the scenes by anti-corruption agencies.
Additionally, former Deputy Prosecutor General Dmytro Verbytskyi has been linked to influence-peddling schemes featured in the so-called “Mindich tapes.” This is mentioned in a post by politician Boryslav Bereza, published amid renewed discussions of the recordings, which mention the names of officials and businesspeople and discuss personnel decisions within government agencies.
