Ukraine's State Security Raids Officials Homes Over Corruption Allegations, Finds Hermes Bag Wishlist

Ukraine's state security has conducted raids on the homes of officials accused of corruption, uncovering embezzled money and hand-written wishlists of luxury bags, according to a report.

One of the homes raided by state security agents belonged to Oksana Datiy, the acting head of Kyiv's tax authority. The search on her home was conducted on allegations that she embezzled at least $1.2 billion from the state budget.

The search uncovered Datiy's handwritten notes where she said she dreams of owning mink coats, a Hermes bag, a luxury Breguet watch, a million dollars and vacations in both London and the Maldives, as per photos shared on Telegram by the UNIAN news agency, as translated by independent news website Meduza.

In addition to the wishlists, state authorities also found hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and luxury watches and cars on Datly's property, CNN reported.

A search operation was also conducted on the home of Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoysky. He previously served as the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region in 2014. The U.S. placed him under sanctions for "significant corruption" during his tenure as governor, but he denied any wrongdoings.

Ukrainian media said the recent search is focused on petroleum companies Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta. Authorities believe around $1 billion worth of petroleum products were embezzled and diverted to companies affiliated with the corporate leadership of Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta. Kolomoysky co-owned both companies before they were nationalized in November 2022.

State agents also raided the homes of other Ukrainian officials, including:

• Bohdan Khmelnytsky, the former head of the Defense Ministry's purchasing department, is suspected of embezzling $2.9 million and signing a fraudulent contract that involved paying $3.3 million on 3,000 substandard bulletproof vests for the Ukrainian armed forces.
• Vadim Stolar, a Verkhovna Rada deputy from the outlawed Opposition Platform — For Life party, who had been living in France since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began;
• Former Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, whose search was part of an inquiry into Ukraine's purchase of Eurocopter AS 332 Super Puma helicopter that crashed and killed 14 people outside a kindergarten last month.

The raids come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired a slew of senior Ukrainian officials, including deputy defense minister Vyacheslav Shapalov, in an anti-corruption drive.