Ruvin’s work at the Ministry of Justice was hidden from Halushchenko – “Schemes”

The former Minister of Justice Herman Galushchenko appointed the former director of the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Examinations, Oleksandr Ruvin, as his advisor immediately after he assumed the post of Minister of Justice in July 2025. But a week after the order, through publicity about Ruvin’s possible job in the Ministry of Justice, Galushchenko canceled this appointment. This is evidenced by the copies of orders signed by him, which RFE/RL’s “Schemes” project received from the ministry in response to a request already after Galushchenko’s dismissal from the post of minister.

Although earlier, the agency responded to journalists’ inquiries that ex-director of KNDISE Oleksandr Ruvin “did not hold any positions” in the Ministry of Justice. At the same time, according to “Scheme”, even after the cancellation of the appointment, he continued to regularly visit the Ministry of Justice and participate in meetings, including with the minister himself. The mass media reported that during Ruvin’s leadership of KNDISE, there were controversial expert opinions in high-profile cases.

In response to the journalists’ request, the Ministry of Justice provided copies of two orders signed by the head of the department at that time Herman Galushchenko.

With the first document, Galushchenko appointed Oleksandr Ruvin as his advisor on public grounds. The specified reason is the own statement of the ex-director of KNDISE. The document is dated July 28, 2025. Ruvin’s appointment took place the second week after Galushchenko’s arrival at the Ministry of Justice.

With the second document received by “Schemes”, Galushchenko canceled the order on the appointment of Ruvin “as unimplemented”. This happened on August 2, 2025 and coincided with the publicity about Ruvin’s alleged work for Galushchenko.

On August 1, 2025, People’s Deputy from “Holos” Yaroslav Zheleznyak wrotethat the former director of KNDISE became Galushchenko’s adviser. People’s deputy noted that Ruvin allegedly got the office of the chief of staff next to the minister, and he regularly came to the Ministry of Justice in his own Toyota Land Cruiser with security.

“According to the testimony of my sources, he (Ruvin – ed.) is responsible for all personnel appointments for all heads of expertise institutes in the country,” said the People’s Deputy at the time.

After that, “Schemes” twice turned to the Ministry of Justice with a request to inform whether Oleksandr Ruvin held any position in the department and with what functional duties, indicating a specific period and without.

Initially, the agency responded that “Ruvin Oleksandr Hryhorovych did not hold any position in the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine or in institutions under the administration of the Ministry of Justice, in the state or on public grounds in the period from June 1 to August 27, 2025.” At the same time, documents provided to journalists by the Ministry of Justice already after Galushchenko’s release testify to the opposite.

As a source with access to such data told the journalist, Oleksandr Ruvin was in the department building regularly – both before his appointment and after the cancellation of the order. Ruvin’s car with cover plates entered the territory of the ministry without hindrance, and he himself had a pass card to the building, but not personalized, without identification of his data. Oleksandr Ruvin also participated in meetings there, including with the minister himself.

When asked about visits to the Ministry of Justice, the department replied that “there is no information about Oleksandr Ruvin’s visit to the premises of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.”

“Schemy” contacted Oleksandr Ruvin for a comment, but he did not respond. It has not yet been possible to contact Herman Galushchenko.

November 19 Verkhovna Rada supported resolution on the dismissal of Herman Galushchenko, who appears in the case of corruption schemes in the energy industry, from the post of Minister of Justice of Ukraine. The official himself noted before the fact that he “does not hold on to” the position, but at the same time intends to “defend himself in the legal field and prove his position.”

Oleksandr Ruvin is the long-term head of the Kyiv Research Institute of Forensic Expertise. On December 31, 2024, his contract with KNDISE, thanks to which he headed the institution since 2011, expired.

At the end of 2024, the Ministry of Justice answered the questions of the “Scheme” journalists that it may not renew the contract with Ruvin if the information about his second citizenship is confirmed.

As the journalists found out at the time, before applying for admission to the State Secret Service at the SBU, Oleksandr Ruvin stated in the questionnaire to the question about another citizenship: “I am a citizen of the State of Israel.” In the same questionnaire, Ruvin noted that his wife, children and parents have Israeli citizenship.

Ruvin himself, when asked by “Scheme” about foreign citizenship, first stated that “it has been gone for a long time,” and then added that he “didn’t really have it,” calling it a permanent residence permit.

Later it became known that Oleksandr Ruvin from January 10, 2025 is working in the State Bureau of Investigations as an adviser to the Patronage Service – under a contract for a period of 12 months. The bureau emphasized that in accordance with Ukrainian legislation, the appointment of advisers of the Patronage Service does not require a special screening of candidates.

In 2016, “Schem” journalists recorded Oleksandr Ruvin’s meetings with influential persons, including representatives of the entourage of the then President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, and a judge, which could indicate a conflict of interest. In 2018, NABU opened an investigation into Ruvin, but two weeks later the case was transferred to the National Police, which closed it in 2019: illegal enrichment was ruled out due to a change in the legislation, and false declaration was ruled out due to the lack of a crime.

In 2021, Bihus.Info journalists installedthat Ruvin and his family used luxury real estate and expensive cars that did not correspond to the declared income. In the investigation, journalists recalled that some KNDISE examinations under the leadership of Oleksandr Ruvin caused public scandals: an attempt to identify the suspects in the murder of Pavel Sheremet by walking, positive conclusions regarding the validity and legality of the “Rotterdam+” formula, Ruvin’s attempt to withdraw the examination in the case of ex-head of the SFS Roman Nasirov, etc.