When the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) arrived with search warrants at the State Financial Monitoring Service on June 10, it appeared to be a routine investigative action. But the chronology of the case transforms it into something else: Bureau detectives have reached the very agency that is responsible in Ukraine for identifying suspicious financial operations.
200 million for fortifications — and the team moved together with the boss
The case begins in 2024, when the Poltava Regional State Administration under Phillip Pronin was building fortification structures in Donetsk region. According to MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, who was the first to publicly announce the abuse, actual costs exceeded the real cost of work by at least 200 million hryvnias. The contractor was LLC "Enki Construction."
What is noteworthy is this: when Pronin left his position as head of the Regional Administration and took over the State Financial Monitoring Service, his first deputy in Poltava — Bohdan Korolchuk — moved with him and took the position of first deputy in the new agency. Both are figures in the NABU investigation.
The net tightened gradually
The chronology shows systematicity, not chaotic searches:
- September 2025: NABU opened proceedings No. 52025000000000498 and merged it with a previously "buried" SBU case in Poltava region, which was criticized for effectively sabotaging the investigation.
- October 2025: Searches at Korolchuk's, the "Enki Construction" contractor's, and Poltava Regional Administration officials' premises. According to Zheleznyak, investigative actions "opened new horizons not only regarding fortification abuses, but also other crimes."
- November 2025: NABU Director Semen Kryvonos publicly stated that the State Financial Monitoring Service does not assist in investigating corruption in the defense sector — effectively calling the agency an obstacle, not an ally.
- December 2025 — early 2026: NABU obtained access to banking secrecy — statements, checks, and accounts of case figures.
- June 2026: Searches directly at the State Financial Monitoring Service office.
The agency's paradox
The State Financial Monitoring Service is the agency obligated to detect and transmit data on suspicious financial flows to law enforcement. The fact that NABU is forced to conduct searches within it as part of a case concerning the embezzlement of defense funds is an institutional collision that goes far beyond a single criminal proceeding.
"The State Financial Monitoring Service did not assist in investigations of probable corruption in the defense sector."
Semen Kryvonos, NABU Director, — in comments to Radio Free Ukraine, November 2025
Separately, journalists documented that Pronin spent over 70 days abroad on official trips during 2025, and elite real estate is registered in the names of relatives. Pronin himself rejected all accusations.
Currently, NABU has consolidated several proceedings into one and is establishing the circle of those involved. Suspicions against Pronin have not been publicly announced — at least as of the date of the last known information.
The key question now is not whether the case will reach court — but whether Pronin will remain as head of the State Financial Monitoring Service until NABU announces suspicions: precedent from previous corruption cases shows that resignation typically precedes formal charges.
