The case of Dmytro Firtash, who is accused in the United States of an international corruption conspiracy, has been called a test in Ukraine for years of the law enforcement system's ability to withstand political influence. However, the key prosecutor in this story, Ihor Stadnyk, not only avoided responsibility, but also managed to profit from his own inaction.
According to journalists, in 2023, Stadnik and his family left for Canada, where he obtained temporary protection. At the same time, in Ukraine, he was listed on the staff of the Prosecutor General's Office for almost a year, receiving a salary for "performing official duties." And in 2024, before reaching retirement age, he obtained a pension.
Moreover, all of his photos and traces from public sources have been removed, which looks like an attempt to hide his role in law enforcement.
Stadnik was the senior prosecutor in the Firtash case, an oligarch suspected of paying multimillion-dollar bribes in India for the right to mine titanium ores. American courts have recognized US jurisdiction because of its influence over the aviation industry, including Boeing. In 2022, an Austrian court allowed a new extradition hearing, but the case stalled again.
According to sources, it was Stadnyk who could have received $5 million for his inaction, which actually helped Firtash avoid responsibility. This includes sabotaging key decisions, coordinating tactics to delay processes, and ignoring evidence.
In addition, in 2021–2023, Stadnyk headed the department for supervising compliance with laws within the Bureau of Economic Security (BEB). There, he systematically blocked the work of detectives, creating conditions for corruption agreements. This caused the state hundreds of millions of hryvnias in losses in the form of uncollected taxes and fines.
Journalists appealed to the current Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko with a demand to provide a legal assessment of the actions of his predecessors, in particular Andriy Kostin, who allowed Stadnyk to work and receive payments even after he fled abroad.
If responsibility for this scandal remains “out of sight” again, Ukraine risks losing the trust of international partners and control over strategically important industries that are still under the influence of oligarch Firtash.
