A Kyiv City Council deputy allegedly bought 398 bitcoins for UAH 128,000 in 2013. They are now valued at UAH 1.276 billion. The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating.

The case materials show that the key element of suspicion is a clear discrepancy between the declared data and the real value of crypto assets. According to the State Bureau of Investigation, the defendant’s declaration indicates the alleged purchase of 398 BTC in 2013 «at a price of 128 thousand UAH»; as of 07.04.2025, the value of this position was estimated at approximately 1.276 billion UAH.

This discrepancy likely raised investigators' concerns about possible concealment of the sources of assets and money laundering.

What have investigators already done?

• On April 8, 2025, investigators searched the owner of a vehicle associated with the suspect and seized two iPhones (an iPhone 13 and an iPhone 15 Pro Max). The devices were recognized as physical evidence.
• On April 14, 2025, attempts were made to copy the contents of the phones, but they were stopped by the «impossibility of overcoming the logical protection system» — in fact, standard forensic methods did not provide access to the data.

In August, the Supreme Court ordered the State Bureau of Investigation investigators to return to the suspect the Toyota Corolla car, Apple iPhone 13 and iPhone 15 mobile phones seized during the search. As stated in the complaint, the seizure of this property, as temporarily seized, was not imposed.