Position: former acting director of the state enterprise "Research Farm "Ivanivka".
Sphere of corruption: agricultural.
Region of corruption activity: Chernihiv region.
Qualification: actions are qualified under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status: at large.
Case story: Polovik was involved in several corruption episodes. For the first time, according to media reports, in December 2022, the Nizhyn District Prosecutor's Office announced suspicion against Mykola Polovik under Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - misappropriation of property.
At the end of March 2023, the prosecutor's office announced a second suspicion against the former head of the state enterprise "Research Farm "Ivanivka" of the NAAS of Ukraine, Mykola Polovik. Polovik, who for eight years brought the state enterprise to bankruptcy, is accused of abuse of office, which led to grave consequences (Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
According to the investigation, Polovik, while acting as the General Director of Ivanivka, concluded a contract for the supply of grain for the future harvest on terms that were unfavorable to the company, which caused losses in the amount of more than 3.5 million UAH.
A forensic commodity examination established that the prices of the goods being supplied are significantly lower than the average market prices at the time of harvest.
Later, on August 13, 2025, it became known that in Chernihiv region, a verdict was passed on the former head of the State Enterprise "Research Farm "Ivanivka"" Mykola Polovik, who, according to the case materials, concluded contracts, through which 125 tons of barley belonging to the State Reserve Grain Fund were sold. As a result, damage of more than 800 thousand hryvnias was caused. The man was convicted of embezzlement, embezzlement of property or taking possession of it by abuse of official position and sentenced to 8 years behind bars with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions for a period of one year. The court also confiscated property that is his personal property.
The trial was held on August 11 in the Borznyanskyi District Court. The verdict states that from July 1, 2013 to August 9, 2021, while actually holding the position and performing the duties of the director of the State Enterprise "Research Farm "Ivanivka", the man concluded and signed two contracts with the State Enterprise "State Reserve Seed Fund of Ukraine" for the provision of seed storage services. Subsequently, the defendant accepted for storage "Trypol" barley seeds in a total amount of 145 tons at a price of 6,500 hryvnias per ton. The total amount is 942,500 hryvnias including VAT.
According to the agreements on the provision of seed storage services, the ownership of the seeds does not pass to the custodian, it cannot be involved in the custodian's economic turnover or be transferred by him to third parties. The custodian undertakes to release the seeds to buyers on the basis of the letter and power of attorney of the depositor, the custodian is obliged to notify about the release of seeds from the warehouse
According to the court verdict, on May 2, 2019, the defendant concluded and signed a contract with Grod LLC for the supply of brewing barley. Under the terms of the contract, the Ivanivka enterprise undertook to supply 100 tons of spring barley for a total amount of 590,000 hryvnias.
The defendant concluded another contract on May 13, 2019. It states the need to deliver 25 tons of spring barley to the buyer for a total amount of 150,000 hryvnias. The price per ton is 6,000 hryvnias.
In fulfillment of the terms of the specified contracts, SE "DH "Ivanivka"" transferred to LLC "Grod" the specified seeds with a total weight of 125 tons for a total amount of 740,000 UAH. Payment for the delivered seeds was received into the account of the experimental farm
Since the actual cost of barley seeds at the time of their delivery for storage was 812,500 hryvnias, the State Reserve Seed Fund suffered material damage in particularly large amounts. The prosecutor also filed a civil lawsuit against the accused to recover damages in the amount of 812,500 hryvnias for the damage caused as a result of the criminal offense.
At the trial, the head of the State Enterprise "State Reserve Seed Fund" reported that he has held the position since December 16, 2020. He learned about the lack of barley seeds that were transferred for storage from representatives of the prosecutor's office.
The company he heads does not have its own warehouses, so it enters into contracts for seed storage at enterprises where the specified seeds are purchased.
The keepers could sell such seeds only with the permission of the State Reserve Seed Fund. An inventory of seeds transferred for storage is carried out once a year. He was present during the investigative action of inspecting the warehouses of the State Reserve Seed Fund "Ivanivka", but there was no seed. Usually, permission to sell seeds is given in the form of a letter, such permissions are not recorded. He does not know whether the previous director signed the permission to sell seeds
The accused did not admit his guilt and reported that the enterprise he headed cooperated with the State Reserve Seed Fund, and seed storage contracts were concluded between the enterprises.
Did not check whether there were certificates for the specified seeds. The director of the State Reserve Seed Fund promised to transfer the certificates, but such certificates were not received by his enterprise. By verbal agreement with the management of the State Reserve Seed Fund, the State Farm Ivanivka used the seeds transferred for storage for its own needs, then replaced them with its own seeds. During the storage of seeds, variety replacement contracts were concluded
At the same time, the accused confirmed that he concluded a contract for the purchase and sale of Trypol brewing barley with Grod LLC. He does not know what grain was shipped, at that time the enterprise had its own grain. The funds from the sale of the specified grain were credited to the account of the experimental farm and went to production needs and payment of wages.
In court, the witness said that since August 10, 2021, he has been the director of the State Enterprise "Dzhezhrezervna Sinfond" (State Reserve Seed Fund). When he started working in this position, he learned that the enterprise had debts to the State Reserve Seed Fund, but there were no seeds in the warehouses. When he took office, such seeds were not transferred to him. He filed a criminal complaint because he believed that the seeds had been stolen.
In addition to imprisonment, deprivation of the right to hold certain positions, and confiscation of property, the court ruled to return without consideration the prosecutor's civil claim for recovery of damages from the convicted person that were caused as a result of committing a criminal offense.
An appeal may be filed with the court against the sentence passed on the convicted person within 30 days from the date of its pronouncement.
Already in February 2026, the Security Service of Ukraine, together with the NABU, exposed the current people's deputy for organizing a scheme to embezzle property of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences worth more than UAH 30 million.
According to media reports, we are talking about People's Deputy Anatoliy Hunko, who in August 2023 was already exposed by the SBU and NABU for taking a bribe of $85,000.
As noted, during 2021–2023, the People's Deputy used controlled agricultural lands for the cultivation and illegal sale of wholesale batches of grain through a network of affiliated companies. In total, this amounted to more than 2.5 thousand tons of agricultural products. In order to hide illegal activities, the perpetrators did not reflect the real amount of harvested crops in shipping documents.
A deputy of the Kyiv Regional Council, two heads of state-owned enterprises of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences and a confidant of the people's deputy were involved in the transaction. They acted as intermediaries and organizers of the illegal circulation of agricultural products. Based on the collected evidence, the people's deputy and four of his accomplices were notified of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (embezzlement or embezzlement of property in especially large amounts by an organized group). They face up to 12 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property. The issue of choosing preventive measures is currently being resolved.
As specified in the media, this case involves two public figures: People's Deputy Anatoly Hunko and Kyiv Regional Council deputy Oleksandr Polyarush.
His colleague, a People's Deputy, helped expose the head of the land mafia, who testified and told NABU in detail how business works at agricultural state-owned enterprises. In return, the case against this whistleblower People's Deputy could have been closed for illicit enrichment.
Also, according to investigations, other deputies of the Kyiv Regional Council from the "Servant of the People" party also appear in the scheme with the NAAS lands, in particular Olena Shust and Viktor Sheremeta.
According to the investigation, Polyarush acted in collusion with Hunko, who was previously exposed for taking bribes for “solving” land issues. According to the NABU, the aforementioned Polyarush played a key role in the scheme with the land and grain of the NAAS for 30 million hryvnias. It was his company LLC “SGP Nastusya” that was used to “legalize” profits through fictitiously inflated yields. Part of the income, according to the investigation, was divided between the participants in the conspiracy. Telephone conversations between the defendants, in which they discussed money, became evidence in the case.
Suspicion also fell on two directors of the state-owned enterprise, one of them Mykola Polovik, the former head of Ivanivka, who in 2021 signed the necessary papers.
At the end of February 2026, the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court released on personal recognizance the former acting director of the state enterprise "Research Farm "Ivanivka" Mykola Polovik in the case of the seizure of agricultural products of state enterprises that are part of the structure of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences.
As indicated, the detective of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau requested the application of a preventive measure in the form of a bail of UAH 998,400 to the former head of the "Ivanivka" household Polovik. He also requested that he be given the following obligations: to appear upon every request; not to leave the Vinnytsia region without permission; to report any change of his place of residence or work; to refrain from communicating with a number of persons; to hand over his foreign passports and to wear an electronic bracelet.
The motion shall be partially granted. The suspect (Polovik) shall be subject to a preventive measure in the form of a personal obligation. The term of the obligations shall be determined until April 11, 2026 inclusive.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: People's Deputy Anatoliy Hunko, Kyiv Regional Council Deputy Oleksandr Polyarush, Kyiv Regional Council deputies from the Servant of the People party Olena Shust and Viktor Sheremeta, as well as the director of another state-owned enterprise.
Assets: based on the declaration for 2025, Polovik currently holds the position of director of the Yaltushkiv Research and Breeding Station of the Institute of Bioenergy Crops and Sugar Beet of the NAAS.
In the declaration, the official indicated that he does not have his own housing - only temporary free use of an apartment in Vinnytsia region. At the same time, his wife owns an apartment in the city of Lozova.
In addition, Polovik indicated the use of a premium Mercedes-Benz Gle-250 car (purchased in 2025), which allegedly belongs to his relative.
Polovik's income for this year was 148,302 hryvnias, and his wife's was 163,876 hryvnias. However, the couple did not declare any monetary assets.
Persons who should have reacted: employees of such bodies as NABU, SAPO, and OGPU should have paid attention to Polovik's criminal activities even earlier.
Scandals: in the fall of 2021, local media reported that in Ivanivka, Borznyanskyi territorial community of Chernihiv region, the dismissed former director of the Ivanivka Research Farm of the NAAS of Ukraine, Mykola Polovik, with the help of athletic men, seized the office premises and forcibly evicted the current director, Andriy Skvarskyi, from it.
It is noted that the ex-director headed the state-owned enterprise for the last 6 years and brought the economy practically to the stage of bankruptcy. The total debts of the state-owned enterprise amount to 90 million hryvnias, two-thirds of which are fictitious debts to various individual entrepreneurs and companies. Locals complained that persons of Caucasian nationality were farming on their lands.
Sources:
https://politcom.online/podilniku-gunka-vruchili-drugu-pidozru-6-rokiv-zverxu/