Ukraine's fifth president, Petro Poroshenko, has once again found himself at the center of public controversy, this time over his charitable donations and large purchases of military bonds. Following the scandal surrounding the receipt of 37 million hryvnias from the Hungarian government, Poroshenko found himself in another conflict when he said he would invest a significant portion of his funds in supporting the Ukrainian army. However, these actions have become the subject of new questions and criticism from the public.
At first glance, investing in military bonds in difficult times for the country is a wise decision, given the fact that the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Digital Transformation are calling for this. However, according to political scientist Valentyn Gladkikh, Poroshenko is investing in securities not with his own funds, but with the money of his charitable organizations, where Ukrainians donate for military aid.
Charitable organizations cannot make money from voluntary contributions, and buying government bonds for public donations and receiving interest for it is exactly that - making money, which directly contradicts the statutory requirements of the foundations.
At the same time, it turns out that not one, but three charitable foundations are collecting public money: this is the NGO “Solidarity of Communities”, the All-Ukrainian Charitable Organization “Poroshenko Charitable Foundation” and the Charitable Organization “ROSHEN Charitable Foundation”.
According to the tax reports, the NGO “Solidarity of Communities” received UAH 152.2 million in profit in 2022, and UAH 203.7 million in 2023. The “Poroshenko Fund” received UAH 203.9 and 357.6 million, respectively. And the “ROSHEN” Fund received UAH 366.7 and 516.43 million.
As the media reported in December 2023, the Poroshenko Foundation and the NGO “Solidarity of Communities” allocated over UAH 4 billion to the needs of the military over two years. However, even if we sum up the total profit of all three funds over two years, it would be about UAH 1.8 billion.
The first to draw attention to transactions with government bonds was expert Valentyn Gladkikh almost a year ago. According to calculations, almost UAH 156 million in securities will allow politicians to receive 32% of the profit in almost two years (22 months), which is about UAH 50 million. What's more, this profit will also not be subject to tax.
“The payment indicates that the bonds are being purchased by the “Poroshenko Charitable Fund”. This is a fund where Ukrainians will donate to Poroshenko for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This includes Ukrainians’ money for drones, walkie-talkies and other things for the front, and not for Petro Oleksiyovych’s earnings. But he decided to spin them for the benefit of his wallet,” wrote Gladkikh in his Telegram channel.
According to the Charter, the Poroshenko Charitable Foundation has the right to organize the collection of charitable donations, assistance, contributions and other property to fulfill its statutory tasks, as well as to carry out economic activities without the aim of making a profit.
At the same time, clause 6.5 of the Charter stipulates that the fund must use charitable contributions from legal entities and individuals only in accordance with the purpose specified by the person who made the contribution. Poroshenko’s PR people at the beginning of the year actively reported that he had not just “invested UAH 156 million in military bonds,” but had “provided a shoulder” to the state in difficult times.
All payments and purchases of securities by Poroshenko's funds are made through the International Investment Bank. For the settlement and cash services of the above transaction alone, he received about UAH 1.5 million in income in the form of a commission from the bank. That is, the politician actually receives double earnings thanks to this scheme.
The “charity” that Petro Poroshenko is trying to present to Ukrainians as assistance to the state and the Armed Forces turns out to be a way to make money. After all, charitable foundations are non-profit organizations, and therefore cannot earn money, while at the same time, through them, Poroshenko buys government bonds, which are an investment, receiving a significant profit even during payments.
And this is a matter of criminal liability: according to Part 3 of Article 201-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the use of charitable donations for the purpose of profit during martial law is punishable by imprisonment for a term of five to seven years with confiscation of property.
