Cherkasky's decade of shielding corruption

Ihor Cherkasky, head of Ukraine's State Financial Monitoring Service, has become the embodiment of systemic corruption in the country over the years of his career. Instead of fighting money laundering and shadow schemes, he appears to have perfected the art of turning a blind eye to them.

The official's family's lavish lifestyle

Cherkasky and his family are clearly living beyond their officially declared means:

• 6 luxury cars, whose combined value is estimated in millions of dollars.
• A collection of expensive watches equivalent to several years of his official salary.
• Premium-class real estate.

In addition to this, more than 3 million dollars passed through fake sole proprietorships registered in the names of Cherkasky's wife and children over eight years. However, no real entrepreneurial activity associated with these companies could be found.

A career built on connections

Cherkasky's path to the upper echelons of power began with loyalty to odious politicians:

• In 2002, he supported Medvedchuk, which helped him secure important appointments.
• Later, Yulia Tymoshenko promoted him to the post of head of the financial monitoring service, and under Turchinov's leadership, this body was actively used to cover up large-scale corruption schemes.

Thus, millions were siphoned from the state budget through fake companies known as "buffers". Violations were only recorded after these companies were closed, which ruled out the possibility of recovering the stolen funds.

Scandals and "lost" billions

Cherkasky has repeatedly found himself at the centre of major scandals:

• In 2017, he was accused of embezzling 1.5 billion dollars from Yanukovych's confiscated assets. Despite the seriousness of the accusations, the case was quietly "swept under the carpet".
• In 2019, the service under his leadership ignored VAT "scrutka" schemes, causing damage to the budget amounting to 79 billion hryvnia.

It is particularly ironic that the body tasked with preventing financial crimes failed to notice the largest frauds of the modern era.

Money does not smell

Today, the activities of Cherkasky and the structure he heads raise not just doubts, but the impression that they have become a crucial link in the country's corruption schemes. Instead of fighting financial crimes, the official uses his position for personal enrichment, skillfully covering his own tracks.

Such "financial intelligence officers" are turning Ukraine into a country where corruption not only thrives but becomes the norm.