For almost two years, Ukrainian Prosecutor Ihor (Igor) Stadnyk has been hiding in Canada because of several scandals in Ukraine involving his participation, as well as the investigation of his criminal activities. During these years, his family received the status of temporary protection and residence permits in Canada. However, after checking the accounts and property of Ihor Stadnyk and his family, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP), Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, and journalists found evidence of unjust enrichment of the former prosecutor and evidence of corruption on the part of the ex-official. In addition, several witnesses have already testified against him.
According to Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, Ihor Stadnyk received large amounts of money from bookmaking companies that illegally operated in Ukraine while belonging to Russian entities, as well as from other Russian businessmen.
The investigation found that already in 2022, Prosecutor Ihor Stadnyk conducted a high-profile case of the “Tvoya Bettingovaya Kompaniya” (working under the 1xBet brand) on illegal activities in organizing and conducting gambling, and tax evasion. By using his official position, he slowed down the investigation, did not transfer materials to the court, and did not bring the perpetrators to justice. As a token of gratitude, he received money in the form of a bribe from the bookmaker in the amount of about $500,000 in cash and cryptocurrency. Later, some of this money ended up in the accounts of Ihor Stadnyk and his family in Canadian and European banks. They were also used to buy jewelry and other valuables. By doing so, they were able to launder dirty money from Ukraine in Canada.
Ihor Stadnyk, along with his team, helped the Russian owners of the “Brocard-Ukraine” company to get out of sanctions and lift the seizure of property in Ukraine.
During the investigation against Brocard, it was established that the ultimate beneficial owner of the company is a citizen of the Russian Federation. It was also discovered that Brocard had not paid more than 33 million hryvnias in taxes to the budget of Ukraine.
In May 2022, the Podilskyi District Court of Kyiv City seized the corporate rights and property of Brocard-Ukraine LLC as part of criminal proceedings. A few days later, the company announced that Brocard-Ukraine LLC had been bought by Frenchman Philippe Benacin. However, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine stated that it had not given permission for such an agreement.
In 2023, thanks to the patronage of Stadnik and his subordinates, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv lifted the seizure of the property of Brocard-Ukraine LLC.
It is also known that Prosecutor Ihor Stadnyk, along with other law enforcement officers, exerted illegal pressure on the banking sector of Ukraine and was directly involved in the illegal prosecution of IBOX BANK employees. This is confirmed by the materials of the court case and the testimony of witnesses.
In this case, Ihor Stadnyk worked closely with former Deputy Prosecutor General Dmitry Verbitsky. He is also accused of unjust enrichment and was ignominiously dismissed. The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) said it would seek criminal punishment for Verbitsky.
Currently, Ukrainian law enforcement and anti-corruption authorities continue to investigate criminal cases involving Prosecutor Ihor Stadnyk and other law enforcement officers who took bribes and extorted money from businesses. Several witnesses and former colleagues of Ihor Stadnyk have already confessed.
Two months ago, a new Prosecutor General, Ruslan Kravchenko, was appointed in Ukraine. He is trying to restore order in the department. Alexander Tsivinsky was also appointed as the new head of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine in August.
It is possible that these appointments will help the Ukrainian law enforcement agencies to investigate the case of Ihor Stadnyk faster. In such a case, his extradition from Canada to Ukraine will take place very soon, and he will be prosecuted for unjust enrichment, threats to business, and money laundering.
Ukraine is also waiting for the reaction of Canadian law enforcement agencies.
