Smirnov faces new $100K bribery-related charges

NABU and SAPO have announced a new suspicion against the former deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, which concerns receiving a large bribe. The agency does not name the former official, but judging by the case materials, it is Andriy Smirnov.

NABU and SAPO exposed the former Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine (2019–2024) for legalizing illegally acquired funds and receiving a bribe in an especially large amount

The NABU clarified that the former official is already being held criminally liable by the NABU and the SAPO for illegal enrichment in the amount of UAH 15.7 million. The Bureau also announced details about the new suspicion.

In particular, it is reported that in the period 2019–2021, the suspect illegally acquired cash, which he decided to legalize by building private houses with a total area of ​​over 300 sq. m in the recreational zone of the Odessa region.

To mask such actions, according to NABU, he turned to the beneficiary of a company that owned land on the seashore and transferred almost UAH 6.5 million for the construction of facilities. The finished property, which was actually used by the top official, was initially registered as a company, and after he was notified of the suspicion in May 2024, it was reregistered as a trustee.

In 2022, the top official was approached by the owner of a construction company with a proposal to provide a bribe in the form of works and services worth $100,000 for the construction of one of the aforementioned houses on the coast.

In return, he asked to assist in the adoption by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine of a decision to cancel the results of the tender in which the competitor won, and to ensure the victory of his company in the new tender. The top official accepted the offer, used his official position and fulfilled the obligations he had undertaken. The Antimonopoly Committee later adopted the “necessary” decision

Andriy Smirnov is a figure in the EBK database.

We will remind, earlier on May 22, the SAPO and NABU announced suspicion of former Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Smirnov in illegal enrichment of 15.7 million hryvnias.

NABU detectives established that between 2020 and 2022, the official purchased assets worth UAH 17.1 million, having savings and official income for this period in the amount of more than UAH 1.3 million. Thus, the difference between the value of the purchased property and the official's funds was UAH 15.7 million.

These are 2 cars, namely a Mercedes-Benz and a Volkswagen, Honda and BMW motorcycles, three parking spaces in Kyiv, an apartment in Lviv, and a plot of land in Transcarpathia.

Earlier it became known that the head of the Kyiv region's tax department was detained for taking a bribe.