Ukraine Received 400,000 Euros in the Stepanov Case

One of the accomplices in the corruption case involving the state-owned enterprise "Polygraphkombinat "Ukraine," in which the main defendant is former head of the Odesa Regional State Administration Maksym Stepanov, has pleaded guilty and agreed to compensate for the damages. 

According to the press service of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, under the terms of the agreement, the individual transferred 400,000 euros to the accounts of the state-owned enterprise “Polygraphkombinat “Ukraine”” and deposited 50,000 euros into the account of the “Come Back Alive” charitable foundation.

The relevant funds had been frozen in the defendant’s bank accounts in France since 2024, specifically at the request of the SAPO as part of criminal proceedings. Following the decision of the High Anti-Corruption Court to approve the plea agreement and with the consent of the French National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, the freeze on the funds in France was lifted, and the funds were transferred to Ukraine to enforce the sentence.

Thefirst repatriation of assets from abroad by the SAP and NABU took place as part of the same criminal proceedings in October 2025, when the French company Surys transferred 3 million 373 thousand euros to Ukraine based on a procedural agreement with the PNF (France).

In September 2025, a Paris court approved a court settlement agreement in the case of a French company linked to alleged bribery and other criminal offenses in the “Polygraphkombinat Ukraine” case.

In 2023, the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court upheldthe arrest warrantin absentia for Maksym Stepanov, the former director of the state-owned enterprise “Polygraphkombinat” and head of the Odesa Regional State Administration.

This marks the first time in Ukraine’s history that actual compensation for damages has been secured as a result of the work of an international joint investigative team. Ukraine, Estonia, and France joined forces to investigate international bribery, the misappropriation of budget funds, and their money laundering. The state-owned enterprise “Polygraphkombinat Ukraine” became the subjectof theinternationalinvestigation. The former director organized a scheme to embezzle funds: under the threat of contract termination, he forced a foreign supplier to work through a company he controlled in Estonia; he demanded that a French company transfer copyrights to him; and he received illegal payments in the form of royalties in return. As a result, the cost of materials for the state-owned enterprise increased severalfold, and losses exceeded 20.5 million euros.

In December 2024, the Ukrainian side secured a plea agreement with an individual close to the former head of the Polygraph Combine. The High Anti-Corruption Court handed down its verdict: the defendant compensated 14.5 million hryvnias in damages, paid 2 million hryvnias to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and provided critically important incriminating testimony against six individuals.

Кирило Бойко