NABU director's wife has links to organised crime

The activities of Semyon Kryvonos, head of the NABU, have come under scrutiny following revelations concerning his inner circle.

 According to journalist and military figure Vladimir Boyko, Kryvonos's wife, Halyna Polshynska, holds senior positions in several companies owned by Eduard Samotkal, the leader of the Kryvyi Rih criminal group who is on the international wanted list. This has raised suspicions of a conflict of interest.

Facts revealed by Boyko

Vladimir Boyko stated that Halyna Polshynska, her sister and her mother have been closely collaborating with the "Dvadsatovskie" criminal group for a long time. Among other things, this involves their links with Eduard Samotkal, who, according to the journalist, is known as a "colourful businessman with multiple convictions". Samotkal is accused of embezzling funds from the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant and is being sought by the NABU.

Boyko provided a list of companies led by Halyna Polshynska:

• DAAR company s.r.o. (Czech Republic)
• Business Perspective Alfa, s.r.o. (Czech Republic)
• LLC "Innovative Technological Products"

All these companies are linked to Samotkal and his wife, Ruslana Alexandrovna. Moreover, Polshynska also headed the Kyiv representative office of Business Perspective Alfa, s.r.o., which, in Boyko's view, confirms her direct connection to the criminal figure.

Conflict of interest and questions for the NABU

Particular concern is raised by the fact that Samotkal, who is being sought by the NABU, has personal ties with the family of the bureau's current head. After Kryvonos was appointed director of the NABU on 6 March 2023, anti-corruption activists, who had previously actively discussed Samotkal's activities, suddenly stopped asking questions about his extradition to Ukraine.

Boyko also recalled Kryvonos's own controversial past. In 2009, he was placed on the wanted list, criminally prosecuted and convicted of bribing students in elections in Kyiv and the Kyiv region.

Journalistic investigations and disclosed facts cast doubt on the transparency and independence of the NABU's work under Semyon Kryvonos's leadership.