Position: Former Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Minister of Justice of Ukraine, and former Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States.
Area of Corrupt Activity: Corruption in public procurement and the management of budget funds.
Region of Corrupt Activity: Nationwide.
Legal Qualification: Article 368-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — illicit enrichment, and Part 2 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — filing knowingly false information in a declaration. There is also an older, so-called “Lukash case.” In that case, Stefanishyna has already been charged; the main legal qualification against her is Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misappropriation or embezzlement of property through abuse of office).
Status: A preventive measure in the form of bail set at UAH 6 million was imposed, and the bail was paid. At liberty.
Case Details: On August 4, 2026, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) notified the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice of Ukraine of suspicion of illicit enrichment of more than UAH 13.9 million and filing inaccurate asset declarations. The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) disclosed which assets the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice of Ukraine, former Ambassador to the United States Olha Stefanishyna, had failed to include in her declaration. She is suspected of illicit enrichment of more than UAH 13.9 million and filing inaccurate asset declarations.
“According to the investigation, in 2024–2025, the suspect acquired two apartments in the Faina Town residential complex (registered in the name of a close friend), worth UAH 6.9 million; and cash totaling approximately UAH 7 million, part of which was spent on renovations in the purchased apartments. The suspect also negotiated the purchase of a house near Kyiv with an estimated value of USD 550,000,” SAPO said in a Telegram statement on Thursday.
It was reported that, under the arrangement, she was to pay USD 250,000 in cash, with the remaining amount to be paid by transferring the two aforementioned apartments in the Faina Town residential complex to the seller. The individual withdrew from the deal, reportedly due to her appointment to a diplomatic post abroad.
“The suspect’s official income was insufficient to make such purchases. From the beginning of 2024 until mid-2025, she earned approximately UAH 3.7 million, while approximately UAH 4.2 million was spent from her bank accounts alone,” SAPO said in its statement. In addition, at various times, the suspect used assets registered in the names of third parties: an apartment in the business-class Lvivska Square residential complex in Kyiv (registered in her mother’s name); a parking space and several non-residential premises in the same complex (registered in her father’s name); and a MERCEDES-BENZ GLC 220D car (registered in the name of a subordinate).
The suspect did not declare information about these assets, nor about the two apartments in the Faina Town residential complex. Her actions were classified under Article 368-5 and Part 2 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
On August 6, 2026, an investigating judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) partially granted the motion and imposed bail of UAH 6 million as a preventive measure against the individual. The SAPO prosecutor is currently considering whether to appeal the ruling.
At the same time, the HACC fully granted the motion to impose the following procedural obligations on the suspect: to appear when summoned by NABU detectives, the SAPO prosecutor, the investigating judge, or the court, depending on the stage of the criminal proceedings; to notify NABU detectives, the SAPO prosecutor, or the court of any change of residence, depending on the stage of the criminal proceedings; and to refrain from communicating with the individuals specified in the investigating judge’s ruling.
There is also a separate, older case known as the “Lukash case.” In that case, Stefanishyna has already been charged; the main legal qualification against her is Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misappropriation or embezzlement of property through abuse of office).
The proceedings concern approximately UAH 2.5 million spent by the Ministry of Justice in 2013 on research into adapting Ukrainian legislation to EU law. According to the prosecution, in 2013–2014, former Minister of Justice Olena Lukash, acting in prior conspiracy with a group of individuals, misappropriated funds from the state budget of Ukraine allocated by the Ministry of Justice for the procurement of services required to implement the National Program for the Adaptation of Ukrainian Legislation to European Union Legislation, approved by the Law of Ukraine of March 18, 2004.
In 2013–2014, these Ministry of Justice officials embezzled UAH 2.52 million in budget funds intended to align national legislation with EU legislation. The individuals involved transferred the money to European Legal Group LLC and a number of individual entrepreneurs without sufficient legal grounds.
The former Deputy Prime Minister, who at the time worked in the Department of European Integration, Olha Stefanishyna, together with former Minister of Justice under Yanukovych, Olena Lukash, was involved in organizing and conducting the tender for the procurement of these services. According to Stefanishyna, she initiated the research projects on European integration. In the opinion of investigative journalists from “Nashi Hroshi,” the quality of the work — for which one page cost between UAH 1,500 and UAH 4,500 — was far from satisfactory. The investigation into these circumstances began back in 2014, when Olena Lukash was first notified of suspicion in criminal proceedings investigated by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine. In 2019, the case was transferred to NABU, and on October 17, 2019, Prosecutor General’s Office prosecutor Viktor Chumak served Olena Lukash with a notice amending the previously issued suspicion.
In September 2023, the case was transferred to the HACC for trial on the merits. This was accompanied by numerous motions to recuse judges and challenges to the court’s jurisdiction due to disciplinary proceedings pending before the High Council of Justice (HCJ).
Olha Stefanishyna commented on the case as follows: “For my part, I have fully cooperated with the investigation, provided all documents and all the facts, and I hope that everyone will come to understand that this case has a nominal element and is not an active criminal proceeding. Throughout my entire professional career, there have been no incidents that would suggest that I could be involved in anything of this kind, and there are none now. And I am confident that there will be none in the future.” Lukash, Stefanishyna, and their associates are charged under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The statute of limitations has already expired for another alleged offense — official forgery.
Individuals Potentially Involved in Corruption Schemes: In the “Lukash case,” the circle of suspects expanded significantly in 2019. In addition to Olena Lukash and Olha Stefanishyna, suspicion notices were served on: Yurii Ivashchenko — Lukash’s deputy and former head of the Ministry’s administrative office; Serhii Mudryi — former director of one of the Ministry’s departments; Olena Biriukova — former director of one of the departments, former chief accountant, and former deputy chair of the tender committee; Svitlana Kolyshko — former head of a department within the Ministry of Justice’s Department of International Law and Cooperation; Oleksii Kalmykov — a lawyer who received UAH 930,000 for a 500-page study; Hanna Sapelnykova — an entrepreneur who received UAH 680,000 for 149 pages of material; Taisiia Bilotska — former acting director of European Legal Group LLC, which received more than UAH 900,000 for a 686-page study; Bohdan Kryvolapov, Andrii Bondar, and Viktoriia Koval.
All these individuals were subsequently granted the status of accused persons in criminal offenses under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misappropriation, embezzlement, or seizure of property through abuse of office) and Part 1 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (official forgery). In October–November 2023, the High Anti-Corruption Court released some of the individuals involved from liability for official forgery because the statute of limitations for that offense had expired. Lukash, Stefanishyna, and their associates are charged under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The statute of limitations has already expired for another alleged offense — official forgery.
In the case concerning the suspicion against Olha Stefanishyna of filing inaccurate asset declarations:
In the ruling imposing the preventive measure, the individuals with whom Stefanishyna was prohibited from communicating were publicly identified as Mazurenko, Kholodovych, Buriachek, and Shatokhin. The mere fact that such a prohibition was imposed does not mean that Kholodovych, Buriachek, or Shatokhin are suspects or accomplices — their procedural status has not been identified as such in the available public statements.
Oleksandr Bukhanevych, Pavlo Kyrylenko, and other officials are also mentioned separately in the materials, but this relates to the prosecution’s allegations of possible influence by Stefanishyna over personnel competitions for leadership positions at NABU and NACP, rather than directly to the scheme involving UAH 13.9 million.
Assets: In her 2025 declaration, Olha Vitaliivna Stefanishyna listed three apartments in Odesa. An apartment with an area of 105.9 m², acquired on October 13, 2008, is jointly owned by Stefanishyna and Nadiia Kravets. Its value on the date of acquisition was UAH 21,784. An apartment with an area of 76.1 m², acquired on March 29, 2007, is owned by Stefanishyna and was valued at UAH 105,294. Another apartment with an area of 38.9 m², acquired on May 22, 1997, is jointly owned by Stefanishyna and Nadiia Kravets; its value is not specified in the declaration.
Stefanishyna also has the right to use, free of charge, an apartment with an area of 74 m² in Kyiv, the right to which she acquired on February 8, 2008. The apartment was valued at UAH 922,835 and is owned by Nadiia Kravets. In addition, she uses an apartment with an area of 99.8 m² in Kyiv, valued at UAH 3,043,692, the right to which was acquired on December 15, 2024. This apartment is also owned by Nadiia Kravets. Stefanishyna uses a parking space with an area of 12.1 m² in Kyiv, valued at UAH 501,684, which is owned by Vitalii Kravets. The declaration also lists her right, effective September 16, 2025, to use a residential building in the United States as the Ambassador’s residence. The building is owned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine; its area and value are not specified in the declaration.
Among her vehicles, Stefanishyna declared a 2009 Toyota RAV4, purchased on February 11, 2012. The vehicle’s value on the date of acquisition was UAH 128,901.
For 2025, Stefanishyna declared UAH 847,954 in salary from the Administrative and Financial Department of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, UAH 486,400 in income from the sale of real estate, UAH 49,967 in salary from the State Management of Affairs, and UAH 265,254 in salary from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. She also received UAH 896,550 in compensation payments from the MFA. In addition, she declared UAH 240,000 in child support for her children, Anastasiia Stefanishyna and Danyil Stefanishyn.
Among her monetary assets, Stefanishyna declared UAH 200,000, USD 4,000, and EUR 2,000 in cash. She held UAH 24,307, UAH 16,872, and EUR 37 in accounts with PrivatBank JSC CB.
Authorities Responsible for Responding: In Stefanishyna’s case, law enforcement authorities responded in a timely manner.
Scandals: Olha Stefanishyna’s name has appeared in several high-profile anti-corruption cases: the “Lukash case,” the case concerning alleged illicit enrichment and inaccurate asset declarations, and the debate over possible influence on competitions for the heads of anti-corruption agencies. Apart from these episodes, no other anti-corruption cases or public allegations involving Stefanishyna of comparable prominence are known.
Sources:
https://interfax.com.ua/news/general/1191191.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://hacc-decided.ti-ukraine.org/uk/cases/52025000000000435?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2026/08/06/8047507/
https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/pidozra-na-13-9-milyona-sprava-proty-stefanishynoyi/33823625.html
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/20e138a9-062f-4cd3-8431-efe47f3196e8