Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court ordered on April 4 the arrest of former Presidential Office advisor Artem Shylo, suspected in a corruption scheme connected to Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia).
He was taken into custody until May 31 with an alternative of almost Hr 30 million (around $770,000) bail.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) first disclosed the investigation on April 2, saying that a former advisor to the Presidential Office is among the suspects while not revealing the name.
Ukrainska Pravda, citing undisclosed sources, wrote that the former Presidential Office advisor is Artem Shylo.
Seven people have been listed as suspects in the corruption scheme connected to Ukrainian Railways (Ukrzaliznytsia), the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) said. Aside from the former presidential advisor, the list includes two top Ukrainian Railways officials, a Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) officer, and three other people.
They are accused of having embezzled Hr 95 million ($2.4 million) from Ukrainian Railways.
Shylo allegedly arranged the purchase of transformers for Ukrainian Railways at an inflated price in 2022, already after the beginning of the full-scale war.
The company that Shylo allegedly directed the contracts to was owned by a Belarusian citizen with connections to Russia, NABU said. The shell company, registered in Bulgaria, then reportedly purchased the transformers from Uzbekistan at double the sticker price.
The suspects then pocketed the difference, NABU said.
Investigators managed to seize Hr 53 million ($1.3 million) from the bank accounts of those suspected of carrying out the scheme.
Oleg Sukhov
