Ukrainian officials and millions abroad: who and how they move funds

In 2023, Odesa Regional Council deputy from the Servant of the People party, Oleksandr Kutateladze, became the leader among local politicians in terms of the volume of funds held abroad. 

His accounts in banks in Poland, Montenegro and Georgia held approximately 61.5 million hryvnia. This information was revealed in the project “Billions from Ukraine”, based on an analysis of officials’ declarations.

Millions in foreign accounts

Kutateladze, elected as a deputy in 2020, declared 1.3 million euros in an account at the Polish bank Santander. Notably, prior to the start of the full-scale war, he did not use the services of foreign banks. His family, one of the wealthiest in Odesa Oblast, is closely linked to business: Kutateladze was one of the founders of the major stevedoring company TIS in 1994.

Other politicians and their foreign savings

It was not only Kutateladze who attracted attention. The wife of another prominent Odesa politician, Vadym Morokhovskyi, accumulated approximately 300,000 euros in Montenegro over two years. Morokhovskyi himself, an experienced financier, previously headed the “South” bank and now leads the “East” bank.

Stanislav Shnaider, director of the Odesa Institute of Stomatology and Maxillofacial Surgery, kept more than 350,000 dollars in cash before the war. In 2022, he transferred these funds to an account at a Greek bank.

Aleksandr Miaskovskyi, director of the Odesa Sea Trade Port, together with his wife, placed 320,000 dollars in Poland and also purchased a car for 2.7 million hryvnia.

Judges and their financial manoeuvres

Lyubov Lavrynenko, a judge of the South-Western Appellate Commercial Court, moved to Canada after her retirement in 2023. There, she transferred approximately 14.6 million hryvnia to local accounts.

The overall picture

According to the investigation, Ukrainian officials and their families have moved at least 7 billion hryvnia abroad since the start of the war. Most of the funds ended up in accounts in Poland and Austria, raising questions about financial ethics and accountability amid the ongoing military conflict.