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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The investigation concerns tax crimes and work for the Russian special services.
Law enforcement authorities in Spain have opened a case against pro-Russian blogger Anatoly Shary and his wife Olga Bondarenko. The couple is suspected of tax evasion. Separately, the Civil Guard is checking for signs of money laundering, document forgery, and asset concealment, as well as the origin of the couple’s funds.
This is reported by the Spanish publication elDiario.es, which obtained access to the materials of the criminal proceedings.
The investigation began after a request for mutual legal assistance from the Ukrainian side. The case materials include a Civil Guard report from 12 June 2025 year, in which investigators point to actions that may constitute crimes against the state treasury, money laundering, and document forgery. Later, hiding assets from seizure was added to the list of possible offenses.
According to tax experts, Shary and Bondarenko have been tax residents of Spain since 2016. The investigation believes that the possible unpaid tax for the 2018 year amounts to 150 875 euros, and for the 2022 year another 387 646 euros. In total, about 538,5 thousand euros of potential tax underpayments.
Additionally, law enforcement uncovered signs of additional sources of income and assets abroad in 2019–2021 years. The materials mention accounts in Lithuania and Russia, P2P payments from Russia and Luxembourg, cryptocurrency, transfers from private individuals from Kazakhstan, and income from online platforms.
Investigators note that part of the operations may involve money laundering. The Civil Guard is examining the version that the origin of part of the funds could be connected with activities in the interests of Russian intelligence services against Ukraine. At the same time, this is currently a version of the investigation, not a proven fact by the court.
Sale of a house and purchase of jewelry
As stated in the case materials, after the Sharys learned about the investigation, they sold their main asset in Spain — a house in Tarragona province. The funds obtained, according to investigators, were directed by the couple to the purchase of jewelry and precious metals.
Investigators noted that such assets are much easier to conceal than real estate and suggested that the aim of the transactions could be to complicate possible arrest or seizure of property.
As early as 2021, Ukrainian court arrested property linked to Shary in Spain and a number of bank accounts in EU countries and Russia. This included a villa in Tarragona and accounts at CaixaBank (Spain), Raiffeisen Bank (Russia), and East-West United Bank (Luxembourg). Zerkalo tygodnia (Mirror of the Week)
The proceedings in Spain remained confidential from 2024 until June 2026, when security forces conducted a search at Shary and Bondarenko’s residence.
Law enforcement officers seized phones and computers. In addition, during the search they found a Glock pistol 19. Case materials also indicate that investigators conducted external surveillance of Shary and his wife and sent requests for mutual legal assistance to Lithuania, Poland, Luxembourg, France, and Ukraine.
At present, the court is to question Shary and Bondarenko as defendants. The first hearing had to be postponed due to technical problems, as the interrogation is planned to be conducted via video conference.
Shary and Bondarenko deny the charges
The couple asserts that their income comes from YouTube, online content, and donations from supporters. The presence of funds on accounts in Russia, Shary also explains as legitimate media activity.
Shary himself calls the investigation politically motivated and claims it was artificially initiated by the Ukrainian authorities. Bondarenko also says that this is pressure on her husband and that the tax part of the case is a disputable calculation of taxes that they are ready to settle.
According to the publication, after receiving the Ukrainian request, the case is being independently pursued by Spanish institutions — the Civil Guard, the prosecution, the court, and the tax service.
In February 2021, the SBU informed Shary of suspicion of state treason. According to Ukrainian law enforcement, since 2012 year he helped Russian state and non-state entities conduct information operations against Ukraine. Shary denies these charges.
In May 2022, Shary was detained in Spain on Ukraine’s request. The next day the court released him from custody, seized his passport, and temporarily prohibited him from leaving Spain during the extradition proceedings.
In June 2025, the pro-Russian blogger was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property under the state treason article.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "В Іспанії відкрили справу щодо Шарія та його дружини: в чому їх підозрюють". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ZN.ua.
