On 6 August, NABU and SAPO issued their first official comment on the suspicion against Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s former ambassador to the United States and former deputy prime minister. The press service of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau said the suspicion was announced over alleged illicit enrichment of more than UAH 13.9 million and false asset declarations.
According to investigators, Stefanishyna owned two apartments in the Faina Town residential complex that were registered in the name of her friend. The value of this real estate is 11 million hryvnyas.
At various times, she also had other assets registered in the names of people close to her:
- an apartment in the business-class Lvivska Ploshcha residential complex in the capital (registered in her mother’s name);
- a parking space and several non-residential premises in the same complex (registered in her father’s name);
- a Mercedes-Benz GLC 220 d (registered in the name of a subordinate).
These assets were not listed in her declarations. The suspect’s official income did not allow her to purchase these assets. From the beginning of 2024 to mid-2025, she earned about UAH 3.7 million. Meanwhile, approximately UAH 4.2 million was spent from her bank accounts alone.
“In addition, she held negotiations to purchase a house outside Kyiv with an estimated value of USD 550,000. Under the plan, USD 250,000 was to be paid in cash, and the remainder was to be paid by transferring to the seller the two above-mentioned apartments in the Faina Town residential complex. However, the government official backed out of the deal, likely due to her appointment to a diplomatic post abroad,” NABU reported.
Legal qualification: Article 368-5 and Part 2 of Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Today, the High Anti-Corruption Court chose a preventive measure for her in the form of bail set at 6 million hryvnyas. SAPO sought bail of 13.3 million. The defence asked the court to refrain from imposing a preventive measure.
Olha Stefanishyna
A native of Odesa, she studied at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and Odesa National Economic University. She is qualified as an international lawyer, an English translator, and a specialist in finance.
From 2006 to 2007, she was engaged in private legal practice, and then began her career at the Ministry of Justice. From 2010 to 2015, she served as deputy director of the international law department and as a director in the European integration department.
Since 2017, she worked as director of the Office for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration in the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers.
In 2019, she ran for the Verkhovna Rada on the list of Groysman’s Ukrainian Strategy, but unsuccessfully. That same year, she worked at the law firm Ilyashev & Partners, which, in addition to Ukraine, had offices in Russia, the Chesno Movement writes.
In 2020, Olha Stefanishyna was appointed deputy prime minister and minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration. In 2021, Stefanishyna joined the political council of the Servant of the People party.
In 2024, Stefanishyna became minister of justice, while retaining her post as deputy prime minister for European integration.
Overall, Stefanishyna headed the European and Euro-Atlantic integration track for more than five years.
Last year, she became Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States. She resigned at her own request on 3 August. LB sources reported back in July that a suspicion was being prepared against the diplomat and that she intended to resign. On 5 August, it became known that Stefanishyna received a new suspicion, but the anti-corruption agencies did not officially report it.
The first suspicion against Olha Stefanishyna was announced back in 2019. She has the status of an accused in the case of former justice minister under Yanukovych, Olena Lukash. Stefanishyna appears in it because, together with other Ministry of Justice employees, she was involved in organising a tender for which the ministry paid 2.5 million hryvnyas. It was a tender for an analysis of Ukrainian and European legislation. In addition to the cost, the quality of the work also raised questions.
Stefanishyna’s surname also appeared in a case concerning possible abuse at ARMA. According to journalists from Ukrayinska Pravda, ARMA transferred assets for management to people close to Olha Stefanishyna. Commenting on the report, the deputy prime minister emphasised that she is not connected to her former husband mentioned in it.
“After reading the article, I was surprised by the manic attempt to weave me, at least somehow, into the affairs of my former husband, with whom my contacts are limited solely to matters concerning our two children. I stated this clearly in a detailed response to journalists’ inquiry. From the visual design of the article to the systematic mention of ‘Olha Stefanishyna’s husband,’ as if that were some special status. I have a first name, a last name, and a position. And yes, I have a personal life story spanning 13 years connected with Mykhaylo, which has nothing to do with my work or my current life. Mykhaylo Stefanishyn is a separate person from whom I divorced seven years ago,” she said.
On 16 July, 2025, SAPO said prosecutors had launched an investigation into possible abuse at ARMA based on the Ukrayinska Pravda text. At that time, no suspicion was announced either to Stefanishyna or to anyone else in the case.
Hromadske also found that the deputy prime minister lived in her mother’s apartment in an elite residential complex, which she did not declare. In a comment to journalists, Olha said her family bought the apartment back in 2019, when the price was significantly lower.