Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities accuse former ambassador to the U.S. Olha Stefanishyna of illicit enrichment

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) announced that former Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S. Olha Stefanishyna is suspected of illegally acquiring 13.9 million hryvnias (about 25 million rubles) in assets and falsifying her asset declaration.

NABU reported that Stefanishyna owned two apartments in Kyiv’s Faina Town residential complex worth nearly 11 million hryvnias, registered in a friend’s name.

She also, at various times, used real estate and vehicles registered to people close to her, including an apartment in the business-class Lvivska Ploshcha complex, without disclosing any of it in her declarations.

NABU alleges Stefanishyna negotiated to buy a house outside Kyiv for an estimated $550,000 before withdrawing from the deal, likely because she had just been appointed to a diplomatic post abroad.

Investigators say Stefanishyna’s official income couldn’t have covered these purchases. Between early 2024 and mid-2025 she earned about 3.7 million hryvnias, yet roughly 4.2 million hryvnias moved out of her bank accounts alone, according to NABU and SAPO.

Ukrainian officials announced the suspicion against Stefanishyna the day before. The High Anti-Corruption Court set her bail at six million hryvnias (about 11 million rubles). She said she had no funds — “neither 13, nor 10, nor six million.” “But of course, I will look for these funds so that I can post bail,” Stefanishyna added.

• Olha Stefanishyna had served as deputy prime minister for European integration since 2020. In August 2025, she was appointed Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., succeeding Oksana Markarova in the post. On August 3, 2026, a decree appeared on the Ukrainian president’s website relieving Stefanishyna of her ambassadorial duties. She herself said she had resigned of her own accord, citing “personal circumstances.”

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