Pavlo Barbul: The High Anti-Corruption Court Will Try in Absentia the Corrupt Former Director of Spetstechnoexport Who Is Hiding in Poland

Former head of the state enterprise Spetstehnotransport Pavlo Barbul was decided to be tried in absentia by the High Anticorruption Court in a case of misappropriating over 146 million UAH. 25 August 2026 year the NABU and SAPO allowed special court proceedings concerning Pavlo Barbul, his former deputy Anton Voronin, and entrepreneur Viktor Markelov. Pavlo Barbul is abroad, and his name is linked with business in Warsaw, Poland. The absence of the accused in Ukraine became the basis for applying the in absentia procedure. There is currently no verdict for Pavlo Barbul in this case.

At the center of the new proceeding are more than 3,78 million euros, or more than 107,2 million UAH. According to NABU and SAPO, in 2016–2019 years, Spetstehnotransport transferred these funds to a foreign company allegedly for mediation services during the execution of foreign trade contracts. The investigation believes that the actual work was performed by employees of the state enterprise itself, while the foreign intermediary did not provide services for which it received millions, media report. Further, according to the indictment, after arriving on the foreign company’s accounts, the funds were transferred to accounts of fictitious enterprises and distributed among participants in the scheme. In the Pavlo Barbul case and other defendants, charges include particularly large-scale embezzlement, official forgery, and legalization of property obtained by criminal means. The total amount of funds in the asserted charge exceeds 146 million UAH. The in absentia format in Pavlo Barbul’s case carries a separate meaning: the court will consider the case without his physical presence. This does not automatically imply a finding of guilt, but allows the process not to be halted because the accused is abroad. That is why, more than six years after the first materials on the activities of the former leadership of Spetstehnotransport appeared, the case was able to move forward without waiting for Pavlo Barbul’s return. The first large courtroom trace for Pavlo Barbul dates back to 24 January 2020 year, when another proceeding concerning the former management of Spetstehnotransport was submitted to the High Anti-Corruption Court. Among the defendants were Pavlo Barbul, Vladyslav Belbas, Anton Voronin, and other officials of the enterprise. As of September 2026 year, there is no final verdict in this process. Separately, law enforcement investigated over 80 million UAH that Spetstehnotransport transferred to a private company for equipment and hardware. The case materials included signs of counterparty fictitiousness. According to the investigation, the company’s head stated that she was not actually engaged in business activity. This episode also did not end with a guilty verdict against Pavlo Barbul. In another case, approximately 2,22 million dollars in agent’s fees were reported to Dubai-based Global Marketing SP LTD for contracts in the arms sector. Law enforcement checked what services the foreign agent provided and whether the payments by the state special exporter corresponded to actual work. Foreign intermediaries became a key focus of the investigations into the former leadership’s activities. In 2019 year, during searches in one of the proceedings, law enforcement seized 120 thousand dollars in cash. Another court episode concerned a house of about 435 square meters in Kozyn, registered to Pavlo Barbul’s mother, Karine Athanyan. During the search of the house personal belongings of Pavlo Barbul were found, after which the property was seized, and the defense tried to cancel the seizure. While Ukrainian courts for years are considering cases related to Pavlo Barbul, his business footprint leads to Warsaw. The Polish company U-LEAD BUSINESS COMMUNITY sp. z o.o. was registered on 7 February 2024 year at Aleje Jerozolimskie, 85/21 in Warsaw. The Polish register lists Pavlo Barbul among the company’s co-owners: he owned 59 shares nominally valued at 2950 zlotys. According to the Polish register, on 3 July 2026 year, Barbul’s stake in U-LEAD BUSINESS COMMUNITY was transferred to another co-owner. At the same time, as of August 2026 year, open data on the company’s ultimate beneficial owners continued to link Pavlo Barbul. Thus, Poland appears in this story not only as the country of his residence but also as the site of his corporate activity. Earlier Ukrainian and anti-corruption media reported that Pavlo Barbul was wanted by NABU and concurrently doing business in Poland. These publications named Warsaw as the site of his business activity and linked the former head of Spetstehnotransport to U-LEAD BUSINESS COMMUNITY. Data about the company itself are confirmed by the Polish KRS, but statements about Pavlo Barbul’s exact place of residence should be separated from the confirmed fact of his corporate ties to Warsaw. In parallel, around Spetstehnotransport there were accumulating claims regarding other foreign economic contracts. In materials that became the basis for new appeals to law enforcement, at least six contracts 2017–2022 years with total value of over 929 million UAH are mentioned. 31 December 2025 year the Solomyansky District Court of Kyiv ordered the SBU to enter details of another episode into the EDR. Therefore, Pavlo Barbul’s case is not a single payment and not a single criminal history. In various proceedings, 146 million UAH in the current charge, over 107,2 million UAH in the central episode, 2,22 million dollars in agent fees, over 80 million UAH for equipment and hardware, 120 thousand dollars in cash, and contracts worth hundreds of millions of hryvnias are involved. These sums relate to different episodes and cannot automatically be added up into one amount of losses.

Now the key question for the process is whether the prosecution will be able to prove each of the stated episodes in court. Pavlo Barbul is abroad, and the High Anti-Corruption Court allowed the case to be heard without his presence. His business footprint in Warsaw remains recorded in Polish registers. The court must give a final assessment of the evidence and the actions of the defendants.