The Nationwide Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine has seized crypto belongings value $1.5 million from Yury Shchigol, ex-chief of the Particular Communications Service.
Shchigol, alongside along with his deputy Victor Zhor, is accused of misappropriating roughly $1.8 million in authorities funds. The pair’s alleged scheme concerned the Particular Communications Service—accountable for inter-governmental communications—overpaying for software program and companies from two unnamed companies.
These purchases, deliberately made with out open public sale to evade transparency, resulted within the authorities paying 285 million hryvnias — round $7.8 million — for companies that value considerably much less, totaling 223 million hryvnias, or $6.1 million. The distinction, its claimed, was pocketed by Shchigol and Zhor.
The belongings seized from Shchigol embrace 6.9 BTC, 1.2 million USDT and 331 TRX. Zhor has additionally been arrested, as reported by Ukrainian information company RBC.
This incident is reflective of a broader development amongst Ukrainian officers’ engagement with cryptocurrency. In 2021, varied civil servants disclosed holdings of 46,351 Bitcoin, valued then at $2.7 billion. Notably, a 19-year-old native politician, additionally the son of two nationwide parliament members, reported proudly owning $24.6 million in Monero (XMR).