A member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the VIII convocation, who was wanted for laundering the proceeds of crime, in particular, more than UAH 1 billion, was detained in Germany.
It was reported by the State Bureau of Investigation.
The agency does not name the person, but according to Ukrainian News sources, it is a former member of the Verkhovna Rada from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, Ruslan Demchak.
According to the investigation, as a deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Financial Policy and Banking, he acted as an accomplice in manipulating government bonds on the stock exchange in a prior conspiracy with the directors of two private companies. The offender received illegal investment income in the amount of UAH 20 million, which was not taxed by law.
Also, according to the SBI, he and his accomplices committed financial transactions with the proceeds of crime and actions aimed at concealing and disguising their illegal origin in particularly large amounts. It is about legalizing more than UAH 1 billion from stock exchange fraud.
The criminals legalized the proceeds of crime from manipulations with the purchase and sale of Ukrainian government bonds. Thanks to this, they managed to receive a payment of investment income that is not subject to taxation. The defendants in the scheme received these funds through a controlled bank (Part 3 of Art. 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
He is also charged with aiding and abetting in the manipulation of the stock market (Part 5 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 222-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The MP was served with a notice of suspicion in 2023 for assisting in stock market manipulation and legalization of the proceeds of crime. In 2024, the NABU put the former MP on the wanted list.
After the former MP fled abroad, the Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv granted permission to conduct a special pre-trial investigation against him. In October 2025, SBI investigators completed the special pre-trial investigation and provided the defense with access to the pre-trial investigation materials.
In February of this year, it is planned to send the indictment to the court, after the expiration of the period of familiarization with the case, which the court limited to February 10 inclusive. At the same time, the extradition under the simplified procedure may take approximately 3 months.
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