Position: former Acting Deputy Head of the State Fiscal Service.
Sphere of corruption: tax and financial.
Region of corruption activity: all of Ukraine.
Qualification: actions are qualified under Part 3 of Article 212 (evasion of taxes, fees (mandatory payments)); Part 3 of Article 209 (legalization (laundering) of property obtained by crime); Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status: in custody.
Case story: On September 5, 2025, the Security Service detained in Kyiv a former top tax payer who created an "envelope center" with a shadow turnover of 1.5 billion hryvnias. This is Yevhen Bambizov.
As a result of comprehensive measures, the organizer of the transaction was detained - the former deputy head of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, who, under the guise of a lawyer, organized a "conversion center"
As the investigation established, he involved four more accomplices in the criminal activity, who ensured the functioning of the "scheme". Among them were two accountants and the head of an affiliated company that was engaged in the legalization and cashing of illegal profits.
During 2023-2025, the defendants "laundered" over UAH 1.5 billion, most of which was stolen from our state budget.
Among the main clients of the "envelope center" were representatives of commercial structures that performed contract work and services for budget institutions and tried to illegally seize state funds.
According to the investigation, in order to obscure the "traces" of shadow financial transactions, the businessmen created dozens of controlled companies, most of which were engaged in business activities only "on paper."
To plan and carry out criminal acts, the suspects rented office space in Kyiv, where they met with clients and stored shadowy documentation.
During the searches, cash obtained through criminal means, as well as seals of controlled companies with signs of fictitiousness, bank cards, computer equipment, and financial and business documents containing evidence of the "scheme" were found in the possession of the organizer of the transaction and his accomplices.
All five suspects have now been detained. They are expected to be charged under two articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
· Part 3 of Article 212 (evasion of taxes, fees (mandatory payments));
· Part 3 of Article 209 (legalization (laundering) of property obtained by criminal means).
The perpetrators face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
At the end of September, Bambizov was informed of a new suspicion of abuse of office. According to the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office, due to his actions, the state was forced to pay UAH 108 million in penalties for untimely VAT refunds to one of the private enterprises.
The investigation found that, while holding a senior position in the State Fiscal Service, Bambizov ordered his subordinates to return VAT refund conclusions in order to delay the payment of funds to the company. He motivated his actions by the need to conduct “additional checks,” although, according to the prosecutor’s office, he knew that the company had all the legal grounds to receive the refund.
As a result of the delay, the company went to court and legally collected a penalty of almost UAH 108 million from the state. Thus, the state budget of Ukraine suffered losses of this amount.
On September 6, the court imposed a preventive measure in the form of detention on the former tax evader with the possibility of posting bail in the amount of 119 million hryvnias. He is currently in custody, no bail has been posted.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: Bambizov involved four more accomplices in his criminal activities.
Assets: In his 2020 tax return, Bambizov indicated that he owns an apartment in Kharkiv in joint ownership and also uses an apartment in Kyiv free of charge. In addition, his wife Kateryna rents two parking spaces.
Bambizov's wife also declared a ring with precious stones.
In addition, Bambizov owns two cars: an Audi S8 and a GAZ. He and his wife use a Mercedes Benz ML free of charge.
Bambizov's income for the same year was UAH 7,019,141, and his wife Kateryna's was UAH 1,010,460.
The couple keeps their main financial assets in cash. In particular, Yevhen Bambizov declared UAH 1,500,000, and Kateryna Bambizova declared UAH 4,200,000.
Persons who should have reacted: law enforcement agencies responded in a timely manner to the criminal activities of Bambizov and his accomplices, handing them suspicions.
Scandals: The media wrote about Bambizov's involvement in various corruption scandals. Even during his leadership of the Office of Large Taxpayers (2018), he was repeatedly mentioned in the media as a person involved in multi-million-dollar schemes for illegal VAT refunds. According to journalistic investigations, the schemes operated in Kharkiv, Odessa, and Kyiv. The losses to the state budget were estimated at hundreds of millions of hryvnias.
In 2019, journalist Yuriy Butusov reported that Bambizova was detained by the SBU on suspicion of involvement in the case of oligarch Serhiy Kurchenko. This involved legalization of income during the purchase of the Ukrainian Media Holding. However, the case never reached court.
And recently, this year, media and online resources mentioned Bambizov at the center of a scandal in one of the most expensive bars in the capital - he committed a night fight there.
Sources:
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/ea6c5605-2b86-42fb-b869-101bf88e6fe7