Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau has seized $1.5 million worth of cryptocurrency assets from Yury Shchigol, former head of the Special Communications Service (SSO).
Shchigol, along with his deputy Victor Zhor, was accused of misappropriating about $1.8 million in government funds. The scheme the two alleged involved the Office of the Special Communications, responsible for intergovernmental communications, overpaying for software and services from two unnamed companies.
These purchases, deliberately made without a public auction to avoid transparency, resulted in the government paying 285 million hryvnia (about $7.8 million) for much cheaper services, for a total of 223 million hryvnia, or 610 million. It amounted to ten thousand dollars. The difference was claimed to be pocketed by Shchigol and Zhor.
Assets seized from Shchigol include 6.9 BTC, 1.2 million USDT and 331 TRX. Ukrainian news agency RBC reported that Zhor was also arrested.
The incident reflects a broader trend among Ukrainian officials’ cryptocurrency-related involvement. In 2021, various government officials disclosed their holdings of 46,351 Bitcoin, which was valued at $2.7 billion at the time. Notably, a 19-year-old local politician who is also the son of two congressmen reported owning $24.6 million in Monero (XMR).