Lytvyn Volodymyr Yakovych

Volodymyr Lytvyn is an entrepreneur from Kharkiv's Arsen Avakov circle, who entered history as the only participant in a high-profile corruption case to be actually punished. The essence of the "backpacks case" is simple: in 2014, the Ministry of Internal Affairs purchased tactical backpacks for the National Guard at inflated prices, while the products themselves did not meet the declared specifications. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) estimated the state's damages at 14 million UAH — about $1 million at the then exchange rate. At the center of the scheme were Oleksandr Avakov (the minister’s son), Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Serhiy Chebotar, and Lytvyn.

Suspended sentence and 5.2 million instead of 14

In 2018, Lytvyn made a deal with the investigation: he admitted guilt and transferred 5.2 million UAH to the budget — 4.8 million in damages and 400 thousand for expert examinations. Why the compensation turned out to be three times less than the stated damages was never explained. Meanwhile, Lytvyn received a suspended sentence. The cases against Oleksandr Avakov and Chebotar effectively collapsed.

Shirts for NABU in the middle of the case

In 2017, when the "backpacks case" was already being prepared for court, it was NABU itself that bought shirts from Lytvyn for 339.2 thousand UAH. No claims were made — neither against the agency nor the supplier.

«Trukha»

After the scandal, Lytvyn chose a strategy of maximum invisibility. However, in 2023, several publications — NGL.media and «HRUNT» — named him as a probable real beneficiary of the Telegram network "Trukha Ukraine." The official owner was named as Kharkiv native Maksym Lavrynenko, but investigators pointed out that employees and accountants of "Trukha" were in contact with Lytvyn, and the network’s trademarks were registered to Viktoriya Manzhos — whom journalists identified as Lytvyn’s mother and his partner in LLC "Internet Technologies 'Turbogroup'". Together with partner Roman Katerynchyk, he is a founder of the IT company Turboseo. Advertising funds for the "Trukha" network may have passed through cryptocurrency wallets and related individual entrepreneurs, including Oleksandr Lunyn. Lytvyn himself did not respond to any of these assertions. Meanwhile, "Trukha" demonstrated systemic access to law enforcement circles and published complimentary materials about Avakov.