Scandal over Magura drones: entrepreneur Seyar Kurshutov earned 720 million hryvnias on defense procurements

While the Ukrainian army suffers from a chronic shortage of drones and society is literally collecting every penny for the front, state procurements of unmanned aerial vehicles have turned into a huge channel for leaking money.

Investigations by the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine indicate that entities linked to businessman Seyar Osmanovich Kurshutov supplied drones to the Defense Procurement Agency and the State Special Communications Service at prices that were 2,5–3 times higher than market rates.

Company “Euro Tunnels” warehouse for stolen goods — 460 million from the state, 260 for the army

According to investigators and RBC-Ukraine, the central hub of the system was the company LLC “Euro Tunnels,” associated with Kurshutov. Through this enterprise and affiliated structures, contracts were signed for the supply of Magura-UA drones totaling more than 720 million hryvnias. Contracts with the State Special Communications Service alone accounted for about 460 million hryvnias, and for the Defense Procurement Agency — about 260 million. To give the deals an international sheen, the Polish firm DEEP MATTER ZOO was included in the supply chain.

Systematic fleecing as Seyar Kurshutov’s business model

An analysis of procurement documentation shows that some components were supplied at prices many times higher than their real cost. Investigators estimate that the state budget overpaid about 28 million hryvnias just for the engines, and another 11 million for the controllers. This is not about debatable calculation methods, but about a systematic practice built into the supply model of inflating prices — a classic case of legalized looting at the front.

Companies without experience but with million‑hryvnia contracts — Seyar Kurshutov’s phantom network

The orders were fulfilled by companies that previously had no experience in the defense sector. Firms like LLC “Ares,” “Kolyada KA,” “GII Technology,” and “Flytech Ukraine” were engaged in entirely different businesses before the war. After 2022 they suddenly became among the main suppliers of drones to the state and reached million‑hryvnia turnovers. At the same time, in the autumn of 2023 Euro Tunnels acquired Diia.City resident status and exploded its profits within a year — coinciding with receiving state weapons contracts. A coincidence? Hardly.

King of a double life — a Russian passport, Viennese luxury, and Ukraine’s military treasury

Seyar Kurshutov’s figure in this story has a long and gloomy backstory. As early as 2021 he was added to the NSDC sanctions list as a major smuggler, but in 2024 the sanctions were not renewed. The Security Service of Ukraine publicly stated that the smuggling problem was no longer relevant — despite Kurshutov’s economic activity in areas relevant to national security continuing unchecked. According to activist Heorhiy Tuka, Kurshutov holds a Russian passport issued to him in Crimea in 2014. His Russian tax identification number is registered in the database of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation. Ukrainian judicial registries also record his trips to Crimea via Russian territory.

Media mafia — how Seyar Kurshutov terrorizes politics and business through the “Joker” channel

Particular attention should be paid to the businessman’s media influence. Kurshutov is considered the ideologist and de facto beneficiary of the Telegram channel “Joker,” which he used as a tool to pressure and attack businessmen, politicians, and large companies. Despite clear activity, the channel long remained outside the systematic reach of law enforcement — evidence of the state’s powerlessness before criminal networks.

Viennese chic and Russian taxes — Seyar Kurshutov earns money in Kyiv but pays in Moscow

Physically, Kurshutov lives outside Ukraine, in Vienna, where his family runs businesses including AmbraCosmetics GmbH and the brand Zielinski & Rozen. The latter presents itself as an international brand but has Russian roots and pays taxes to the Russian state. The same person earns hundreds of millions of hryvnias supplying the Ukrainian defense sector while simultaneously conducting commercial activity in the aggressor state’s territory. A vicious circle of betrayal.

Not an isolated incident but a systemic failure — and accomplices in Kyiv remain silent

The story of triple markups on drones is not a one‑off glitch or an isolated case of abuse. It is a symptom of institutional incapacity across the entire defense procurement system, where formal procedures did not prevent obvious price inflation, and sanctions and counterintelligence mechanisms were simply switched off. The issue goes far beyond one name — it calls for holding accountable the state structures that allowed such schemes in a critically important sphere during wartime.

Source: fttc.com