The Supreme Court of Ukraine arrested former State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleksandr Bankov with an alternative bail of UAH 10 million

The High Anti-Corruption Court has chosen a preventive measure for the former State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleksandr Bankov, who is suspected of misappropriating foreign funds intended to support Ukraine.

As reported by Suspilne, the court ruled to take the suspect into custody for 60 days with the possibility of posting bail in the amount of 10 million hryvnias.

During the court session, the prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office requested the application of detention with the alternative of bail in the amount of 15 million hryvnias. At the same time, the defense insisted that such an amount was unreasonably high and asked to choose a milder preventive measure.

What is the former State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs suspected of?

At the end of July, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office reported the exposure of a criminal group suspected of embezzling foreign financial assistance allocated to Ukraine at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

According to the investigation, the organizer of the scheme was the former State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who held this position in 2020–2024. Although law enforcement officials did not officially name his name, during the specified period the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was Oleksandr Bankov.

In addition to him, three more people have been suspected in the criminal proceedings.

Currently, the pre-trial investigation is ongoing, and law enforcement officers are establishing all the circumstances of the alleged embezzlement of international assistance intended to support Ukraine.