How former MP Khomutynnyk smuggled out luxury cars

In February 2022, days before the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Vitaliy Khomutynnyk, a former People's Deputy and businessman, left Ukraine on a private jet. 

He flew out of Boryspil Airport and landed in Farnborough, near London, at an airport dedicated exclusively to business aviation. This mysterious departure was only the beginning of a complex story involving assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Since then, Khomutynnyk has not returned to Ukraine, yet his capital has continued to "migrate" around the world in an unusual manner.

Evacuation of luxury cars: Mercedes and Rolls-Royce

After Khomutynnyk left the country, his business networks and assets appear to have continued moving abroad. One striking example is the purchase and export to Europe of luxury cars worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. In October 2024, a 2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre, registered to the former deputy's company, was sent to Europe via the Shehyni border crossing.

The car was purchased in Ukraine and later transported to the UK. This deal attracted the attention of Ukrainian military personnel and journalists, sparking a wave of outrage, as the amount spent on the vehicle could have been directed to the army's needs.

Disagreements over car costs

According to an investigation, Khomutynnyk continued to acquire premium-class cars even after fleeing the country. In 2022, he was on the list of the wealthiest Ukrainians with a fortune of nearly half a billion dollars. Along with his business partners, oligarchs Kolomoisky and Fukh, Khomutynnyk owned significant assets, including the gas extraction company "Ukrnaftoburіnnia".

Currently, Khomutynnyk continues to make large purchases, including a 2024 Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 4MATIC, which cost over 100,000 dollars.

Independent expertise and methods of capital outflow

Experts claim that buying cars can be used to bypass controls on the export of funds abroad. According to specialists, purchasing expensive cars is often used as a method of capital flight, allowing the vehicle to be declared as personal property rather than a trading asset. This also enables circumvention of strict rules regarding cross-border money transfers.

Furthermore, in the UK, buying a car with foreign number plates can be tax-advantageous, as owners of such vehicles are exempt from certain local fees and fines related to vehicles.

Recent purchases and "optimisation" schemes

One striking example is the purchase of a Rolls-Royce Spectre through the dealer "AVT Bavaria". The car was acquired for 23 million hryvnia, equivalent to 548,000 dollars. Notably, the car's price at the dealership was 619,000 dollars, raising questions about the potential concealment of the vehicle's real cost and "optimisation" schemes.

The purchase of the Mercedes-Benz EQE, another luxury-class car registered to Khomutynnyk's company "UIK", is equally mysterious.

Further investigation and conclusions

The investigation conducted by journalists points to the possible use of a scheme to move capital out of Ukraine through the purchase of expensive cars. Law enforcement agencies are currently continuing to verify these actions, including the use of shell companies through which large transactions were carried out.

In the next issue, journalists from StopCor promise to reveal additional details about the origin of the funds used to buy the cars, as well as explain exactly how the money was transferred to foreign accounts.

Note: It is important to note that in 2021, Khomutynnyk was one of the participants in a scheme in which the "Respublika" shopping centre was sold at an undervalued price, resulting in the state budget losing over one billion hryvnia.