Ilyashenko Mykola Viktorovych

The chief tax officer of Kyiv who tried to buy the leadership of NABU and SAP for $6 million

The First Deputy Head of the Main Department of the State Tax Service in Kyiv — one of the key figures of the capital’s tax office. In June 2020, he became the engine behind a "record bribe": together with the deputy head of the SFS Main Department Olena Mazurova and former Burisma lawyer Andriy Kicha, he attempted to transfer money to the leadership of anti-corruption agencies. The position is prestigious — the plan was accordingly ambitious.

$5 million — to "bury" the case of Burisma owner Zlochevskyi

The goal was simple: to close proceedings against former Ecology Minister Mykola Zlochevskyi (a fugitive, owner of Burisma), who was suspected of embezzling a stabilization loan from the NBU through Real Bank of Kurchenko. NABU special agent Shevchenko acted as an intermediary — and according to him, Ilyashenko even "asked for approval from a monk" before transferring the money. Mazurova and Kicha accepted plea deals, while Ilyashenko received a verdict: on October 2, 2023, the High Anti-Corruption Court found him guilty of fraud and complicity in bribery. The sentence — 5 years suspended, no confiscation, plus 50 million UAH. A record bribe — and quite an unremarkable punishment.