Kormyshkin in court: I gave ₴200 million to charity and the Armed Forces, why should I «launder» 20?

The High Anti-Corruption Court is considering the case of Yurii Kormyshkin. Screenshot from the video.

Former deputy of the Mykolaiv Regional Council and businessman Yurii Kormyshkin denied the charges of false declaration and legalisation of almost UAH 20 million received from his wife during a hearing of the High Anti-Corruption Court.

The court session is taking place today, 27 January, according to NikVesti.

During his speech, Yurii Kormyshkin noted that he did not buy the house for the ₴19 million 736 thousand he received from his wife. According to him, he provided the funds to his business partner.

«I officially declare to you (the court, — note) that I lent the money I received from Iryna Valeriivna to my business partner, Koval Volodymyr Ivanovych. When we had neither searched nor suspected Iryna Valeriyivna, I filed a declaration in which I stated that I had lent 20 million to Koval Volodymyr Ivanovych. At that time, he was a deputy of the local council of Kyiv region. He also reflected this in his declaration», he said.

Detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine served Yurii Kormyshkin with a notice of suspicion. Screenshot from the video.

The court hearing was also attended by his wife, Iryna Kormyshkin. Screenshot from the video.

He also noted that he did not need his wife's money, as he was a wealthy man.

«As the dear prosecutor said, I am a very wealthy person and I have almost 100 million hryvnias in my declaration. So why did I need to receive any money and legalise it for someone else, if I had these funds», he said.

Yurii Kormyshkin added that he has been helping the Armed Forces of Ukraine a lot, and we are talking about more than ₴200 million.

«In 2022-2025, I donated more than ₴200 million to various funds for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. So I have a question: why would I want to legalise 20 million for someone if I only give more than 200 million to charity», he said in court.

The businessman told the court that he needed to undergo periodic medical treatment abroad, that his children were studying in Ukraine and that he had no property abroad, so he was not going to leave Ukraine forever. Yurii Kormyshkin asked the court to disregard the prosecutor's arguments and allow him to periodically travel abroad for treatment. He also assured that he was ready to appear in person at the request of the investigation.

What is Iryna Kormyshkina suspected of?

As a reminder, in November 2022, the High Anti-Corruption Court ordered Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin to open criminal proceedings over the possible illicit enrichment of Iryna Kormyshkina, a member of the MP from the «Servant of the People» party. In particular, she received a gift of ₴14.4 million. Earlier, she also received ₴5.3 million and a Swiss DEFY MIDNIGHT watch worth ₴310,000, set with 11 white diamonds.

On 17 October 2024, Iryna Kormyshkina (Allakhverdiieva), a member of the MP from the «Servant of the People party», was served with a notice of suspicion of illicit enrichment in excess of ₴20 million. According to the investigation, she used the money to buy a house in Odesa region.

In his turn, the husband of MP Iryna Kormyshkina (Allakhverdiieva) and former deputy of the Mykolaiv Regional Council, Yurii Kormyshkin, denied his wife' s illicit enrichment and said they would defend their case in court.

Later, the High Anti-Corruption Court chose a preventive measure for MP from the «Servant of the People» party, Iryna Kormyshkina (Allakhverdiieva), suspected of illicit enrichment of ₴20 million, in the form of a personal guarantee by the head of the Verkhovna Rada faction, David Arakhamiia, and the head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, Vitalii Kim. They also explained why the MP was bailed out.

On 9 January, the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office announced a new suspicion against the current MP. She is suspected of deliberately entering false information in her declaration.