The competent authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany handed over to Ukrainian law enforcement officials Ruslan Demchak, a former member of the 8th convocation of the Verkhovna Rada (Petro Poroshenko Bloc), who, after being notified of the charges against him in 2023, had been hiding abroad and was placed on an international wanted list. As a result of illegal stock market manipulation, he received nearly UAH 20 million in investment profits, which he subsequently laundered.
The National Police and Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenk reported this, according to the Ukrainian News agency.
After his extradition, Demchak was detained and taken into custody. The trial regarding him and other members of the criminal group is currently underway.
Operatives from the National Police’s Department of Strategic Investigations, together with investigators from the State Bureau of Investigation’s Main Investigative Directorate and the Prosecutor General's Office, established that in 2017, members of the criminal group organized a scheme to manipulate domestic government bonds (OVDPs). Professional stock market participants carried out cyclical exchange transactions involving the purchase and sale of securities, artificially generating investment profits that were not subject to taxation under the law.
Former MP Demchak, who at the time served as deputy chair of the parliamentary committee on financial policy and banking, was one of the ultimate beneficiaries of this scheme. As a result, he illegally obtained and laundered nearly UAH 20 million.
In 2023, law enforcement officials notified the group’s members of the charges against them. After that, Demchak went into hiding abroad. He was subsequently placed on an international wanted list and was arrested in Germany in late 2025.
On July 13, he was handed over to Ukrainian authorities at the “Krakivets–Korchowa” international border crossing. Based on a ruling by the Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv, he was detained and remanded in custody as a preventive measure.
The former member of parliament is charged under Part 5 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 222-1 (market manipulation on organized markets), and Part 3 of Article 209 (legalization (laundering) of property obtained by criminal means) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He faces up to 12 years in prison.
As a reminder, in February 2026, law enforcement authorities completed a pretrial investigation and filed an indictment against the former member of parliament and other members of the criminal group. The trial is ongoing. The investigative measures were carried out in cooperation with the National Securities and Stock Market Commission under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor General's Office.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the 8th convocation was detained in Germany; he had been placed on the wanted list for laundering proceeds obtained through criminal means, specifically more than UAH 1 billion. In 2024, NABU issued a warrant for the former lawmaker’s arrest.
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