The NACP discovered undeclared cryptocurrency in the possession of a Ministry of Internal Affairs official

The National Agency for Corruption Prevention has identified inaccurate information totaling 7.87 million hryvnias in the asset declaration of Pavlo Kovalchuk, deputy head of the Regional Service Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Rivne, Volyn, and Zhytomyr regions. During the audit, the official’s cryptocurrency assets drew particular attention.

Pavlo Kovalchuk explained that the cryptocurrency came from investments made through a fund in Hong Kong.

The NACP reviewed Kovalchuk’s amended declaration for 2025, submitted on April 21, 2026. The most significant discrepancies relate to the “Intangible Assets” section. Kovalchuk declared three types of cryptocurrency held on the WhiteBIT exchange:

• 14,170 WhiteBIT Coin (WBT);
• over 103,000 Tether (USDT);
• over 71,500 Sleepless AI Tokens (AI).

The official estimated the total value of these assets at 7,861,180 UAH. Specifically, he valued the WhiteBIT Coin at 3.11 million UAH, Tether at 4.35 million UAH, and the Sleepless AI Token at nearly 395,000 UAH.

Where did Kovalchuk’s crypto millions come from?

During the audit, Kovalchuk explained that he became interested in cryptocurrencies back in 2021. He said that was when he learned about the opportunity to invest in WhiteBIT Coin during the private sale phase.

According to the official, he did not have the $500,000 required to participate on his own, so he and nine other individuals entered into an agreement with a representative of a trust fund registered in Hong Kong. After the private sale was funded, the cryptocurrency was allegedly credited to his account.

He cited proceeds from the sale of commercial real estate in Kyiv and Dnipro, an apartment in Lutsk, and land plots as the source of funds for the investment. However, during the audit, the official failed to provide documents confirming his ownership of the declared crypto assets as of December 31, 2025.

In particular, the presentation materials provided by the official regarding WhiteBIT Coin did not contain information about his ownership of the corresponding amount of cryptocurrency or his balances as of the end of the reporting year.

The NACP sent a request to the WhiteBIT cryptocurrency exchange but had not received a response by the time the audit was completed. As a result, the agency concluded that the information regarding crypto assets worth 7,861,180 UAH was not supported by sufficient evidence.

The agency also noted that declaring cryptocurrency without confirming its existence could be used to evade liability in the event of the subsequent acquisition of unjustified assets or to artificially inflate declared assets.

Signs of a Criminal Offense

Based on the results of the audit, the NACP identified signs of an offense in Pavlo Kovalchuk’s actions, as provided for in the article of the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding the declaration of false information.

The total amount of inaccurate information amounts to 7,866,191.69 UAH, which exceeds the threshold for criminal liability established by law. At the same time, the NACP found no evidence of illicit enrichment, unexplained assets, or violations of conflict-of-interest requirements.

What had journalists previously uncovered?

As reported by the Center for Investigative Journalism “The Power of Truth,” in March 2023, Pavlo Kovalchuk purchased 19,000 WhiteBIT Coins for 4.2 million UAH. As of April 2025, the value of these assets exceeded 23 million UAH, meaning they had increased more than fivefold.

At the same time, in 2023, Kovalchuk declared only 84,000 UAH in salary from the “WhitePay” charitable foundation, where he was working at the time. At the same time, the official held corporate interests in three companies—“Avia Voyage,” “Primum,” and “Novokievskoe.”

Kovalchuk himself said that he became interested in cryptocurrencies back in 2020 and learned about the developers of the WhiteBIT exchange through mutual acquaintances. According to him, he made his investments gradually, even before he began working at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

This was reported with reference to the results of an audit of his financial disclosure statement.

The National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NAZK) found violations in 100% of the officials’ declarations it reviewed.

As a reminder, the NACP has completed an automated audit of declarations for 2025.

Earlier, the National Agency for Corruption Prevention completed a full audit of the 2024 declaration of Viktor Zazulinsky, deputy head of one of the divisions of the Economic Security Bureau. 

During its review of the declaration filed by Viktor Zazulinsky, deputy head of a department at the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine, the National Agency for Corruption Prevention identified signs of inaccurate asset reporting.