Apartments, renovations and a Mercedes: SAP reported UAH 13.9 million in assets of Olha Stefanishyna
Olha Stefanishyna herself called the outcry "a storm in a teacup."
5 August 2026 The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced a new suspicion against the former Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States and former Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna. The suspicion concerns possible illegal enrichment. The same day the High Anti-Corruption Court in Kyiv began considering a motion to impose a preventive measure on her.
The SAP prosecutor stated in court that the former official’s expenditures exceeded her income and savings. Official sources of income named salary, reimbursement for business trip expenses, and alimony. According to the prosecution’s version, Olha Stefanishyna did not sell property, did not take loans, and did not withdraw cash from accounts, while the total value of assets acquired over 1.5 years amounted to UAH 13.9 million.
During the hearing, the prosecutor also quoted correspondence in which, according to the prosecution, Olha Stefanishyna sent other people utility bills and asked them to pay. On that basis the SAP asked the court to set a preventive measure in the form of bail in the amount of UAH 13.1 million.
According to the Anti-Corruption Action Center, the investigation believes that some property may have been acquired by other people on the suspect’s instruction. She is also accused of failing to declare 2 one-room apartments, cash spent on home renovation, her mother’s medical treatment, plane tickets, and the rent for another apartment. Separately, there is mention of use of a Mercedes registered to a subordinate. This is the investigation’s version, which the court still has to assess.
After hearing the parties, the High Anti-Corruption Court went into deliberation. The announcement of the decision on the preventive measure was scheduled for 6 August 2026 at 09:30.
After the hearing Olha Stefanishyna told journalists of “Espreso” that she respects law enforcement’s right to advance their own versions, but believes the explanations already provided by the defense are sufficient.
“Obviously, the first thing I want to say is that I respect the right of any investigative body to put forward versions and have assumptions. Of course, in the eyes of any prosecutor or investigator, whether NABU or others, they view all their subjects as people who have bad intentions or motives. I have lived my life with dignity and believe that the information voiced by the lawyers is sufficient.”
The former official added that during the further consideration of the case the defense will provide all the materials. According to Olha Stefanishyna, she is also ready to disclose some information and has previously handed documents to journalists at Bihus.Info, who had asked questions about her assets.
Commenting on her procedural status, Olha Stefanishyna emphasized that outside the courtroom she remains a mother, a politician, and a public figure.
“I want to state publicly that, of course, in this courtroom, when you follow the hearing, I am a suspect. But, leaving here, I will continue to be a mother, a politician, a public person, a dignified free person. Thank you.”
In her public post Olha Stefanishyna also noted that being notified of suspicion does not mean guilt has been established, and compared the resonance around the case to a “storm in a glass of water.”
“Any procedural actions are part of law enforcement’s work, but they do not establish guilt. I treat these events calmly and without unnecessary emotions, and the fuss around this story looks more like a storm in a glass of water. I have dedicated more than ten years to serving the state. Some have already been quick to imagine that my diplomatic service across the ocean would become a convenient distance from awkward questions. But the mission was successfully completed, and I am in Ukraine to answer them here.”
The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Olha Stefanishyna from the post of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United States by decree No.696/2026 dated 3 August 2026. She had held the position since 27 August 2025.
The new suspicion is not directly related to another criminal proceeding in which Olha Stefanishyna already has the status of an accused. It concerns the Ministry of Justice’s 2013 procurement of studies on adapting Ukrainian legislation to EU law for more than UAH 2.5 million. That case is under consideration by the High Anti-Corruption Court.
According to the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent until their guilt is proven in accordance with the law and established by a guilty verdict of a court.
Earlier we wrote:
- BTR tires turned into a Mercedes and an apartment: NABU and SAP exposed a large-scale scheme
- Call centers, ex-wife, and $1 million: Tishchenko faces a new criminal story
- Nearly 4 years of no-shows in a bribery case: the sitting MP was brought to a detention facility
- Close the case over a Tesla: NABU uncovered a prosecutors’ scheme
- “There used to be a lot of money”: Kim compared corruption in power then and now
