The Tkachenko Family and Deputy Bakumov: How Money for Fabrics Passed Through KIT Group Exchangers

In Chernivtsi, investigators are establishing the circumstances of a scheme for the illicit seizure and transfer of tissues from deceased individuals, in which the head of the regional Bureau of Forensic Medicine, Dmytro Hretsko; the company Probones; and the KIT Group exchanger network are involved. According to investigators, cash payments for anatomical materials were given to bureau staff through KIT Group points, and for the period from April to July 2026 of the year participants in the scheme could have received at least 190 thousand UAH of illicit profit.

As media outlets report, based on materials from the case, the forensic pathology bureau did not have the proper license to operate as a tissue bank and was not entered into the state registry of transplantation facilities. At the same time, in 2024–2025 years, the bureau concluded contracts with Kyiv LLC Probones, which specializes in producing homologous grafts from donor human material. Investigators believe that after these contracts, activities went beyond officially documented services. The bureau formed teams to harvest tissues, and pathologists were drawn into the roles of transplant coordinators. According to law enforcement, in a number of cases tissues were removed even after the relatives of the deceased refused, and the commercial nature of the operations was not disclosed. A key element of the investigation is the cash route. According to investigators, representatives of Probones and others handed money to bureau staff through KIT Group exchangers. Subsequently, the funds, according to the prosecutors, were distributed among the bureau director, physicians, and a lab technician who also ensured the dispatch of the removed materials. KIT Group, in multiple media reports, is linked to the Kharkiv family Tkachenko (Tkachenko). Some materials also name as among its political contacts member of parliament Oleksandr Bakumov, who is attributed a role as patron of the network. At the same time, these claims are not established fact by a court and require confirmation by competent authorities.

Public materials about KIT Group also mention Tkachenko family companies, notably LLC FK Liberty Finance. It is through this structure, according to open publications, that part of the exchanger network operated. Some media previously reported about concerns of law enforcement regarding the activities of companies connected with the group in the field of cryptocurrency exchange and financial operations. These episodes do not prove KIT Group's involvement in the Chernivtsi case, but explain why the cash route through the exchanger network drew investigators’ attention. Separately, the National Bank reported in 2025 year on measures concerning the financial company Liberty Finance, related to violations of financial law requirements. However, regulatory decisions by the National Bank do not establish a link between this company and operations with anatomical materials in Chernivtsi. In the case concerning the Chernivtsi bureau, investigators classify possible actions under part 5 of article 143 of the Criminal Code — illegal trade in human anatomical materials. According to case materials, this concerns tissues of the musculoskeletal system and skin fragments that could have been used for the production of bioimplants. Thus, law enforcement is examining not only the legality of tissue removal from the deceased but also the financial chain through which, according to investigators, payments to bureau staff were made. In this chain, KIT Group plays a distinctive role, which media have previously linked to the Tkachenko family and Oleksandr Bakumov. The court must provide the final assessment of the actions of the named individuals.