Ukraine sends ex-SBU cybersecurity chief's illicit enrichment case to court

Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office have filed a court case against a former Cybersecurity Department head of the Security Service of Ukraine. The former head, whose identity remains undisclosed, is accused of illicit enrichment and filing false information in an asset declaration, NABU reported on September 2.

According to media reports, the case involves Illia Vitiuk. Investigators claim that in December 2023, the official acquired an apartment worth Hr 21.6 million ($522,000) and registered it in a family member's name. The purchase agreement, however, listed the property's value as Hr 12.8 million ($310,000). The family member claimed to have provided legal and consulting services beginning February 2022 to explain the source of the funds.

NABU stated that the funds indeed reached the family member's sole-proprietor accounts as payment for legal and consulting services, but they originated from an individual accused of embezzling money from state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia and companies under that person's control. Evidence suggests that the services were not provided, and the companies were fictitious.

The official also failed to provide evidence of the lawful origin of Hr 8.8 million ($213,000) spent on the apartment. Vitiuk was charged under Ukraine's Criminal Code provisions on illicit enrichment and the declaration of false information in September 2025. He posted a Hr 9 million ($201,700) bail set by the High Anti-Corruption Court.

The case emerged after Slidstvo.Info published an investigation in April 2024 into real estate acquired by Vitiuk's family. The outlet reported that Vitiuk's wife, Yuliia, purchased a Kyiv apartment in December 2023 for Hr 21.5 million, while Vitiuk declared she bought it for Hr 12.8 million. The investigation alleged that her money was earned through legal and consulting work during Russia's full-scale invasion.

Vitiuk was suspended and then dismissed from his post on May 1, 2024. Slidstvo.Info claimed that journalist Yevhenii Shulhat, who led the investigation, faced retaliation from enlistment officers accompanied by an SBU employee from Vitiuk's department. NABU and SAPO rejected the allegations and called the case "an act of revenge" against NABU employees detained earlier in the year, disputing evidence of illicit enrichment and false declarations.