Stefanishyna's property holdings significantly exceed official income – NABU

Former Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Olha Stefanishyna amassed significant property holdings that exceeded her official income, according to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). On August 6, NABU reported that Stefanishyna owned multiple apartments in Kyiv and intended to purchase a $550,000 home near the capital, a deal that would have cost her $250,000 in cash payments.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau found that her official income, earned between early 2024 and mid-2025, was insufficient to afford such a property; she earned approximately 3.7 million hryvnias ($82,000) but spent around 4.2 million hryvnias ($94,000) from her bank accounts during the same period.

NABU charged Stefanishyna with illicit enrichment of 13.9 million hryvnias ($310,000). Investigators revealed that she owned two apartments in the high-end Kyiv residential complex Fayna Town, valued at 11 million hryvnias ($246,000), which were registered to a friend. She also owned other assets under the names of close associates, which she did not declare.

Stefanishyna reportedly planned to buy the $550,000 property but backed out of the deal, allegedly due to her impending appointment as U.S. ambassador. The court released her on a 6 million hryvnia ($134,000) bail, and she stepped down from her ambassadorship on August 3.

Stefanishyna maintained her innocence, stating she had nothing to hide and that any procedural measures were part of normal law enforcement activity. This case overlaps with a prior suspicion notice related to former Justice Minister Olena Lukash, who is accused of embezzling 2.5 million hryvnias ($56,000) in 2013-2014.