Babenko said the searches were carried out without a court warrant, under what investigators described as an urgent procedure. According to him, both he and the company's employees currently have the status of witnesses.
What was seized
According to Babenko, investigators seized cash intended for employee salaries (around UAH 40 million kept at the office), $3,500 of his personal funds, as well as personal and corporate documents, documents belonging to sole proprietor (FOP) contractors, mobile phones and, among other things, the notarised agreement on the acquisition of a 75% stake in Babel.
Babenko said he had only learned about this legal procedure during the searches.
"I only found out today that it's considered normal to conduct a search first and then go to court afterwards."
According to him, the next step will be to seek court approval for the seizures.
Theories behind the searches
Initially, the company considered the possibility that the searches were linked to the interests of Roman Kravets, owner of the Joker Telegram channel, who is under sanctions for smuggling and who, according to Babenko, may have undisclosed interests in Ukraine's drone manufacturing sector.
"There was a theory that he owns a number of drone manufacturing businesses in Ukraine. It's widely known, although unofficial and unproven. But it's been confirmed by so many sources that it appears quite plausible," Babenko said.
However, once it became clear that searches had been carried out simultaneously at dozens of locations across the country, the company dismissed that theory as unrealistic for someone based abroad.
Babenko said his current working hypothesis is that someone was trying to advance relatively minor private interests without anticipating the consequences for the company.
"From everything we've seen, it looks like someone simply wanted to push through some small personal interests and went too far. Then, when it became clear that this was harming the country's interests, I think everything will be resolved peacefully."
Allegations of inflated production costs
According to Babenko, the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) claims the company artificially inflated production, administrative and other costs in order to channel money through sole proprietors (FOPs).
Babenko rejected the allegation, arguing that the company's products are among the lowest-priced on the market.
He also said such a scheme would make little financial sense under Ukraine's Diia City tax regime. The company pays a 9% tax on withdrawn capital, while payments through sole proprietors are also taxed, bringing the combined tax burden to around 14%. By comparison, simply increasing salaries would incur taxes of about 10%.
"If we wanted to charge for 100 drones but deliver only 50, we wouldn't need sole proprietors to do that. Objectively."
Regarding the seized cash, which he said was intended for salaries, Babenko stressed that the funds were fully legal, not intended for off-the-books payments.
"We withdraw cash legally and then pay our employees. There are very simple reasons for this. The first is security: we're a defence company and cannot allow a bank to have a complete list of all our employees."
He added that the SBI has not specified which contracts it believes involved inflated pricing.
Plans to relocate the production facility and office
Following the searches, the company said it would relocate the office where investigators carried out the searches and review its internal security procedures.
"We now understand that we were most likely under surveillance beforehand — we simply didn't notice it. If our own authorities could monitor us, then perhaps the Russians could too."
Impact on production
Babenko estimated that relocating just one production facility could cost the company tens of millions of hryvnias. No new location has yet been selected, as landlords are often reluctant to lease premises to defence companies.
He said production itself had not been halted by the searches, although some suppliers had been affected. The company plans to help them find alternative locations if necessary.
On Babel
Babenko also denied any connection between the searches and pressure on Babel following its investigation into non-combat deaths in the Skelya Assault Regiment.
"There is no reason to suspect that Skelya is behind this pressure. I can say straight away that we're not at war with anyone except the Russians."
He added that the company still does not know who is trying to link the Babel investigation to the searches.
Company scale
According to Babenko, Vyriy Industries works with 212 units of Ukraine's Armed Forces. In 2025, the company purchased UAH 7.5 billion worth of Ukrainian-made components — around 8.4 million individual parts — from 400 to 500 sole-proprietor suppliers.
"One in every four FPV drones in the country is ours. That's a huge share."
Babenko also said Vyriy drones reach the Defence Forces through multiple channels, including the DOT-Chain Defence platform, the Ye-Baly programme, direct procurement contracts, brigade-level agreements, funding from international partners and volunteer foundations.
"Whenever we sign a state contract, we submit all documentation on production costs. Without it, the contract simply would not be approved," he added.