The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has requested President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Security Service of Ukraine to impose sanctions on a suspect in a land fraud case involving the “Stolichny” market. Although NABU did not name the individual, details suggest it pertains to Yuriy Ivanushchenko, a former member of parliament from the now-banned Party of Regions.
According to NABU, investigators uncovered substantial financial ties between the suspect and the aggressor state. Evidence indicates that companies associated with Ivanushchenko were operating in temporarily occupied territories and the Russian Federation, remitting taxes to the Russian budget. Additionally, the suspect reportedly utilized a Russian passport and maintained connections with individuals involved in financing armed groups and occupation authorities of the aggressor state.
Earlier, the Radio Free Europe project “Schemes” revealed that Ivanushchenko, who is wanted by NABU for allegedly legalizing state lands in Kyiv worth over 160 million hryvnias, obtained a Russian citizenship passport in 2004 in Rostov-on-Don. He has reportedly acquired foreign Russian passports at least twice, in 2017 and 2021, which he used for travel to Russia.
Ivanushchenko, also known as “Yura Yenakiivskyi,” was a business partner of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and fled Ukraine following the Euromaidan protests. He has been implicated in various criminal cases related to embezzlement, illegal enrichment, and complicity in criminal offenses, resulting in him being placed on a wanted list. In 2017, the European Union lifted sanctions against Ivanushchenko due to the closure of criminal proceedings against him in Ukraine, leading to his removal from the wanted list. However, in 2019, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office announced the resumption of criminal proceedings against him.
In May 2022, Switzerland initiated asset confiscation proceedings against Ivanushchenko, targeting assets valued at over 100 million Swiss francs.
The NABU is pursuing sanctions against Yuriy Ivanushchenko, a former MP linked to land fraud and financial ties with Russia. Ivanushchenko's past includes various criminal allegations and a history of fleeing justice.