KNISE experts falsified valuation of SBU General Vitiuk's wife's apartment

Deliberately false expertise of elite real estate

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) have notified forensic experts from the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise of the Ministry of Justice (KNISE) of suspicion. The specialists are suspected of deliberately falsifying the valuation of an apartment owned by the wife of a high-ranking official of the Security Service of Ukraine.

According to investigation data, in December 2023, the official's wife purchased the property for 21.6 million UAH. However, the price in the purchase and sale agreement was artificially reduced to 12.8 million UAH.

Methods of price manipulation

In April 2024, the couple's lawyer initiated a valuation and construction expertise at KNISE. As early as May of the same year, the panel of experts determined the market value of the apartment at 12.3 million UAH. This figure turned out to be 9.3 million UAH lower than the actual price.

«Для досягнення цього результату експерти умисно застосували для порівняння нерелевантні об’єкти нерухомості. Надалі цей документ використовувався стороною захисту як доказ у НАЗК, НАБУ та суді» (To achieve this result, the experts deliberately used irrelevant real estate objects for comparison. Subsequently, this document was used by the defence side as evidence in the NACP, NABU, and court), the Bureau stated.

The investigation showed that the experts ignored the requirements of the investigation. In May 2024, NABU detectives investigating the case regarding the apartment purchase appointed a panel expertise, but on 11 November 2024, they revoked it, requesting the return of materials without execution. Despite this, the experts continued their work.

They limited the value of objects for comparison to a figure not exceeding 2,500–2,600 US dollars per square metre, whereas the market price was 3,000 US dollars. Moreover, the specialists deliberately chose the cheapest offers from 1,550 US dollars, ignoring other available analogues.

Falsification of dates and transfer of documents

In early December 2024, the experts signed the conclusion but dated it 8 November 2024—that is, before the moment the NABU detective revoked the expertise. The detectives received a copy of this document not from the institute, but from the lawyer of the suspected high-ranking official.

NABU emphasised a systemic problem: «Відзначимо, що подібні маніпуляції з доказами були б неможливими за умови функціонування експертної установи при НАБУ. Керівництво Бюро вже кілька років поспіль наголошує на критичній необхідності створення незалежної експертної інституції. Це дозволило б усунути корупційні ризики, унеможливити зовнішній тиск на експертів та суттєво підвищити ефективність досудового розслідування у справах щодо топкорупції» (We note that such manipulations with evidence would have been impossible if an expert institution under NABU were functioning. The Bureau's leadership has been emphasising the critical need to create an independent expert institution for several years in a row. This would allow eliminating corruption risks, preventing external pressure on experts, and significantly increasing the effectiveness of pre-trial investigations in top-corruption cases).

Who is the suspected official

The NABU statement does not specify the official's surname. However, it is likely that this refers to Brigadier General Illia Vitiuk, who was notified of suspicion in September 2025.