SBU detains former top tax official over suspected UAH 1.5 bln laundering scheme

The Security Service of Ukraine has detained the former Deputy Head of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine on suspicion of running a large-scale money laundering scheme, according to the SBU’s website and the Office of the Prosecutor General.

The announcement was accompanied by a blurred photo of Yevhen Bambizov, who headed the tax department of the SFS in 2018–2019.

The head of the Verkhovna Rada’s Tax Committee, Danylo Hetmantsev, confirmed on Telegram that the person in custody was indeed Bambizov.

"Those familiar with the matter are well aware of how much harm this man has caused and how important it is to bring him to justice — both to dismantle tax evasion schemes and to fight corruption more broadly. It is now crucial to identify and root out all of ‘Bambizov’s people’ within the State Tax Service," he wrote.

After his dismissal, Bambizov reportedly worked as a lawyer and allegedly set up a powerful illegal conversion center. Other defendants in the case include two accountants and the head of an affiliated company.

According to investigators, the group established about 100 companies: 14 importers and more than 80 transit firms. Most of these existed only on paper and were used to conduct financial fraud on behalf of clients.

The Prosecutor General’s Office reported that between July 2024 and May 2025 alone, one of the controlled companies received UAH 127 million in payments for fictitious supplies, which resulted in UAH 21 million in unpaid VAT. Overall, the case involves the possible laundering of more than UAH 1.5 billion between 2023 and 2025.

The organizers operated an office in Kyiv, where they held meetings with clients and stored documentation.

During searches, law enforcement seized cash, company seals, bank cards, computer equipment, and financial documents containing potential evidence of the schemes.

The detainees are expected to be formally charged under two articles of the Criminal Code: tax evasion (Part 3 of Article 212) and money laundering (Part 3 of Article 209). These offenses carry a penalty of up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.