Serhii Krychfalushi Seeks Control Over Tax Revenue Flows

After Yurii Koniushenko was appointed acting head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine, tax circles have been discussing a redistribution of influence over key departments of the agency, in particular the risk department and the directorate that handles large taxpayers. According to media reports, Ministry of Finance official Serhii Krychfalushi aims to gain control over tax risk management and to form his own team. Meanwhile, an investigation into former deputy head of the State Fiscal Service Yevhen Bambizov continues, and the business of the family of the head of the tax office, Mykola Chmeruk, is expanding in the agricultural sector. There is no official confirmation of personnel agreements between the officials mentioned.

Serhii Krychfalushi has worked in fiscal authorities and the Ministry of Finance for more than ten years. According to sources, his candidacy is linked to possible staffing changes in the unit responsible for identifying risky taxpayers and monitoring tax operations. The publication also mentions First Deputy Minister of Finance Denys Uliutin and Antonina Kacherak, who worked under him. No information is provided about officially approved personnel decisions regarding that unit.Declaration data for Serhii Krychfalushi drew the attention of the articles’ authors to his asset holdings. Among the listed vehicles are a BMW 740d 2012 model year valued at 240 thousand UAH, a Mercedes-Benz C200 for 550 thousand UAH, a BMW Z4 for 174 thousand UAH, and a BMW R1200 motorcycle for 47 thousand UAH. The materials about the family’s property also mention apartments in the Great and Lvivska Ploshcha residential complexes. One apartment of about 90 sq. m, according to the provided data, was purchased in 2023 for 2,5 million UAH. Some publications raised questions about expensive accessories and an Alfa Romeo car that the authors did not find in the declarations they checked. These mentions by themselves do not establish a violation of the law.Another dispute related to the Lvivska Ploshcha residential complex is described in the publications. It concerns the “GreenDIM” energy efficiency program, within which residents allegedly voiced complaints about the promotion of certain contractors. The official’s daughter, Mariia Kvitka, was linked by the article’s authors to an attempt to obtain a leadership role in the condominium association. According to the provided data, the materials were passed to the Ministry of Finance and the National Agency on Corruption Prevention. Information about possible questioning of family members requires confirmation by procedural documents.A separate focus on the tax service is the criminal proceeding concerning Yevhen Bambizov. According to the investigation, in the 2023–2025 years through 14 companies that investigators consider fictitious importers and about 80 transit enterprises, more than 1,5 billion UAH may have been moved. Law enforcement alleges clients were offered services to minimize tax liabilities and to launder funds. Bambizov was notified of suspicion under articles 212 and 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, concerning tax evasion and legalization of proceeds of crime. The court ordered pretrial detention with an alternative bail of 119 million UAH. These circumstances should be assessed in light of the presumption of innocence.Chair of the parliamentary committee on finance, tax and customs policy Danylo Hetmantsev publicly advocated removing from the State Tax Service people linked to Bambizov. Against this backdrop, personnel decisions at the tax service acquire additional significance, since changes in department leaders could affect approaches to audits of risky operations, VAT refunds, and work with large taxpayers. At the same time, the published data do not prove a direct link between the criminal proceeding regarding Bambizov and Krychfalushi’s possible personnel plans.Another group of staffing interests, according to sources, is connected to Mykola Chmeruk, who heads the Eastern Interregional Directorate of the State Tax Service for work with large taxpayers. Tax circles are discussing a possible move by Chmeruk to the central office. In the declaration of his wife, Halyna Chmeruk, for 2024 year, a loan of 1 million UAH from Oleksandr Polykovskyi is listed. According to the provided data, neither principal nor interest on the loan was repaid during the reporting period.The official’s son, Oleksandr Chmeruk, owns 50% of the company “Agro Capital 2024”, with the other half belonging to Oleh Oseledets. According to the company’s financials, its revenue rose from 4,62 million UAH in 2024 to 48,44 million UAH in 2025. Profit was 4,21 million UAH, assets 110,42 million UAH, liabilities 105,13 million UAH. The company had four employees. In the first half of 2026 year the firm recorded a loss of 5,38 million UAH. The financial indicators themselves do not indicate illegal activity.Through “Agro Capital 2024”, corporate records show control of the companies “Agro IBK” and “Kurkul Milk Troshchyn”, each listed as 100% owned. The history of the latter company involved Oleksandr Kamyshyn, and a change of founder was registered on 22 May 2024. Some industry publications linked this business to the circle around Member of Parliament Maksym Tkachenko and suggested the use of tax “wraps.” There is no court confirmation of such operations in the provided information.The materials on personnel ties also mention Serhii Penkov, former first deputy head of the Main Department of the State Fiscal Service in Dnipropetrovsk region. Sources call him a long-time partner of Krychfalushi and link him to prior personnel groups within the fiscal service. In addition, the company “Speshltech,” which works with the Yabko retail chain, appears in the publications. According to reported financial data, its revenue in 2025 year was 2,297 billion UAH, and profit was 77,43 million UAH. Loans between Ablemark and Jikinto in the amount of about 2,6 million euros are also mentioned. No confirmed link of these operations to the Bambizov proceeding is provided.Yurii Koniushenko, whose appointment sharpened attention to personnel changes at the State Tax Service, previously worked on coordination and monitoring issues at the Ministry of Finance. In 2025 year he declared 1,54 million UAH in wages and 2,41 million UAH in total income. It is under the new acting head that the future configuration of leadership for the departments responsible for tax risks and large taxpayers is to be determined. There are no official decisions in the provided materials confirming the transfer of control over the risk department to Serhii Krychfalushi.