Former NBU Head Honcharova Plans a New Family Office in Cyprus Despite Investigation into ICU

Former head of the National Bank of Ukraine and former co-owner of the Investment Capital Ukraine (ICU) group Valeria Goncharova may become a co-founder of a new investment business.

This is written in her blog by former editor of Ekonomichna Pravda, Serhiy Lyamets, citing his own sources.

"According to my sources, Valeria Goncharova is opening a family office in Cyprus. Her partner in the new project could be former first deputy head of the NBU Kateryna Rozhkova, who was also spotted in Cyprus and who reportedly owns real estate there. Rozhkova is a longtime friend and trusted associate of the former head of the National Bank," he noted.

According to the author, under the Prosecutor General, Ruslan Kravchenko, Goncharova became a defendant in a joint investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) and the Office of the Prosecutor General. As part of this investigation, at the beginning of 2026 year the Office of the Prosecutor General sent requests for international legal assistance to Cyprus, the British Virgin Islands, and the Netherlands. Investigators are checking her and other ICU co-owners for links with representatives of the Russian Federation and possible abuse of official position.

"From stabilization loans, it is not too difficult to draw a line to the article on damages to the state in especially large amounts, since during the 'banks' run' about half of Ukrainian banks were liquidated," he writes.

According to the author, at various times there were other cases against Goncharova, as she crossed paths with many influential people in Ukraine. The so-called 'cleaning' of the banking system she arranged resulted in Ukraine losing a huge portion of its GDP for many years to come.

Recall that in the period from 2015 to 2017 year she initiated the so-called 'banks' run,' the victims of which included about 90 banks, thousands of businesses, and millions of people. The most high-profile bankruptcies were Delta Bank, VAB, Nadra, Finansy ta Kredyt, Khreshchatyk, Mikhailivskyi, and Platina. Through the 'banks' run,' assets of banks worth billions of dollars were sold off at pennies on the dollar, and people's and companies' savings disappeared. Goncharova shifted blame onto unscrupulous bankers, while she herself and her political cover were accused of corruption, abuse, and unethical behavior. However, criminal cases against Goncharova either were not opened or were quickly closed due to government manipulation and friendly relations with influential figures in the United States.

At the same time, ICU group was closely aligned with President Petro Poroshenko, who appointed and supported Goncharova as head of the NBU. It was Makary Pasyenyuk who was involved in creating a 'blind' trust under Rothschild, settling the Lipetsk factory case and Russian assets of Poroshenko, negotiating the purchase of TV channels, energy deals, and many other matters. Because of this, Makary Pasyenyuk was considered the 'financial shadow of Poroshenko'.

Lyamets cites court materials stating that Goncharova formally exited ICU ownership, but maintained contacts with the group at the same time as she led the National Bank.

"There are well-founded grounds to believe that Goncharova V.O., while serving as Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of Ukraine, abusing her official position, acting against the interests of the service to obtain improper benefits for herself and other individuals throughout 2014-2018 years, facilitated the illegal issuance of stabilization loans to commercial banks," Lyamets quotes court materials in the case in which former and current ICU owners are involved.

In particular, the author writes, Goncharova's name appeared in connection with possible involvement in money laundering and embezzlement of budget funds. In this context ICU is mentioned as a structure connected with her.

"Pre-trial investigation is conducted regarding the board of the National Bank of Ukraine, which under Goncharova V.O. during 2014-2018 years, by prior agreement with officials of the group of companies Investment Capital Ukraine (Investment Capital Ukraine or ICU), used their official position contrary to the interests of the service to obtain improper benefits for themselves by creating conditions and ensuring the systemic functioning of large-scale schemes of embezzlement of budget funds and legalization of income obtained by criminal means," quotes Lyamets from court materials.

According to him, currently none of Goncharova, Pasyenyuk, or other defendants have received suspicions. However, the author notes their status could change at any moment because the case is not closed despite ICU's considerable efforts. In Lyamets's view, they might be interested in inflating the scandal around Kravchenko's resignation as Prosecutor General.

"Has the investigation into ICU gone so far as to create a real threat to Goncharova, Poroshenko, and the group they built to service flows of government representatives under the name ICU, formally organized now under Makary Pasyenuk and Kostyantyn Stetsenko? Has this, in turn, become one of the reasons why pressure at some point began to shift to Kravchenko himself? Valeria Goncharova and the people she is acting in the interests of by opening a family office in Cyprus are absolutely not interested in a successful conclusion of the DBR and Office of the Prosecutor General investigation. They must be confident that Ukraine will drop its claims against Goncharova," the author noted.

The author separately noted that he does not consider ICU powerful enough to "bring down" Kravchenko by involving NABU and activists. In his view, they are surely among many similar defendants in investigations that the Office of the Prosecutor General controlled. Since it was not possible to close the Kravchenko case, there is some hope that the next prosecutor general may be more loyal.

In Lyamets's view, the criminal case threatens Goncharova, Pasyenyuk, and Stetsenko's future projects, notably the Cyprus family office.

Lyamets provides some facts:

- It concerns Case No. 62025000000000954, opened in September 2025 year. Its defendants are Goncharova, as well as current ICU co-owners Makary Pasyenyuk and Kostyantyn Stetsenko, and related legal entities.

- A family office is a closed structure that professionally manages the finances of one family or several families. The office provides services in investment, taxes, and money management. The names of beneficiaries are usually not advertised.

- In official court documents related to the investigation, Pasyenyuk, Stetsenko, Goncharova, and numerous companies in Ukraine, Cyprus, and the British Virgin Islands (BVI) that are part of ICU are mentioned. For example, very well-known ICU Trading, ICU Holdings, ICU Investment Management, CIS Opportunities Fund, and JSC Bank Avangard (in total — more than a dozen structures). Prosecutors and investigators analyzed not only Ukraine's facade but also the offshore core of the group.

- In July 2026 year, it became known that the Office of the Prosecutor General's international requests could have been withdrawn. According to the author's sources, in February 2026 year the Prosecutor General, with the support of the head of the Unit for Ensuring the Exercise of Prosecutor General's Powers in Criminal Proceedings Ay-din Khudiev, ordered suspending the entire group of prosecutors who handled, among other things, international requests, from the investigation.

- "The ICU group has a stable financial connection with financial companies of the aggressor country Russia since its founding and continues it despite Ukraine's full-scale armed aggression and the imposition of national and international sanctions," reads the Pechersky Court ruling from 11 December 2025 year. Specifically, the investigation includes Goncharova, Pasyenyuk, and Stetsenko's cooperation with representatives of Vneshtorgbank of Russia (VTB). The family of VTB's top executive was once a co-owner of ICU. After the events of 2014, ICU became the owner of 35,02% of Burger King Russia (Cyprus) Ltd, having purchased a stake from the sanctioned VTB. It is also known that ICU collaborated with sanctioned Russian oligarch Konstantin Grigorishin. These facts may be subjects of investigation or grounds for the National Security and Defense Council (RNBO) to consider sanctions already against ICU's co-owners.