This is reported by Kyiv24
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine has initiated an investigation into the possible receipt of illegal benefits by former leaders of the Security Service of Ukraine – Ivan Bakanov and Andriy Naumov. The opening of the case occurred following public statements by businessman Serhiy Vahanyan, who is currently abroad.
Details of the Case and the Businessman’s Statements
According to Serhiy Vahanyan, former SBU head Ivan Bakanov and former head of the Main Directorate of Internal Security Andriy Naumov allegedly used sanctions imposed by the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) for their own interests, turning them into a business project. The businessman claims that he paid money obtained from grain exports in exchange for guarantees of avoiding problems with regulatory authorities. Part of the “rewards,” he says, came in the form of valuable gifts: expensive furniture, cars, and luxury jewelry.
Vahanyan stated that he paid money from profits made from grain exports, for which he was guaranteed “no problems with regulatory authorities.” Some of the “rewards” also appeared as gifts in the form of expensive furniture, cars, and luxury jewelry.
Legal Qualification and Further Progress of the Investigation
The investigation is being conducted under articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine concerning the acceptance of an offer of illegal benefits by a public official in a particularly large amount or by an organized group, as well as the offer or provision of such benefits to officials in the interests of third parties.
Member of Parliament from the “European Solidarity” faction Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze reported that she and her colleagues have appealed to anti-corruption authorities with a request to open proceedings regarding these facts.
Ivan Bakanov, in a comment to one publication, dismissed all accusations, stating that the case is an attempt by supporters of “European Solidarity” leader Petro Poroshenko to discredit President Zelensky and destabilize the parliamentary majority.
Andriy Naumov has long been in the spotlight of journalistic investigations related to suspicions of corruption schemes, money smuggling, and the illegal transfer of valuables abroad. In particular, in 2020, journalists from the “Schemes” project discovered properties owned by Naumov that did not correspond to his official income. In January 2025, it became known that Naumov purchased three apartments in an elite residential complex in the Turkish region of Alanya, with a total cost of about 17.5 million hryvnias.
In 2024, Interpol issued an international wanted notice for Naumov at the request of the State Bureau of Investigations (DBR). Among other things, he is suspected of fraudulently acquiring over 3.2 million hryvnias while managing a state institution from 2019 to 2021. Additionally, Naumov had previously been charged with organizing the forgery of official documents.
Naumov was held in custody for a period in Serbia, where the court did not grant the request for his extradition to Ukraine. The DBR expressed hope in October 2025 that the court in Austria would consider the extradition issue soon.
In 2023, an internal audit of Ivan Bakanov’s activities was ongoing within the SBU.
On July 17, 2022, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Ivan Bakanov from the position of head of the SBU. The decision was made in accordance with Article 47 of the Disciplinary Statute of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which provides for the removal of a serviceman for failure to perform official duties that resulted in serious consequences or created a threat thereof.