Anti-corruption investigations in recent years have uncovered a number of high-profile cases involving Kharkiv natives, from ministers and MPs to high-ranking energy officials. The biggest wave of scandals was caused by the NABU operation “Midas,” which exposed large-scale embezzlement of public funds. Among the key figures was Kharkiv resident Oleksiy Chernyshov, known on tapes under the call sign “Che Guevara.” But he is far from the only representative of Kharkiv involved in nationwide corruption schemes.
The First Lady's Godfather and "Che Guevara" in NABU Films
Oleksiy Chernyshov is one of the most influential Kharkiv natives who have come under the scrutiny of anti-corruption authorities. A former head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration, Minister of Community and Territorial Development, businessman, and close friend of the Zelensky family, he became one of the central figures in the NABU proceedings on the embezzlement of state funds through energy sector enterprises.
Investigator Yuriy Nikolov emphasizes: Chernyshov was not the organizer of the scheme, but an intermediary and "cashier" who transported cash and bought luxury real estate in Kozyn for the participants in the deals. On the NABU tapes, he appears under the pseudonym "Che Guevara."
After the investigation gained momentum, Chernyshov and his family went abroad, but, according to journalists, Zelensky personally forced him to return so as not to tarnish his own political image. As of November 2025, Chernyshov has no preventive measure, but court decisions are expected in the near future. The investigation documented the transfer of bribes to him in the amount of more than $ 1.2 million.
His wife, the godmother of the first lady, Olena Zelenska, is not officially a party to the case, but the media reported on searches at her workplace.
Fugitive Rector Odarchenko and the Bitcoin Bribe
Another Kharkiv resident who found himself at the center of a corruption scandal is the former rector of Kharkiv State Biotechnology University and MP Andriy Odarchenko. He was a member of the Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy, but he himself became a figure in a high-profile case.
NABU detained him in November 2023 while transferring a bribe equivalent to $50,000 in cryptocurrency to Mustafa Nayem, the then head of the State Agency for Reconstruction. The goal was to obtain money from the fund for the liquidation of the consequences of aggression for the repair of university facilities.
Despite a bail of UAH 15 million, Odarchenko fled the country, traveling through Romania to Hungary. The Supreme Anti-Corruption Court sentenced him to 8 years in prison, but in absentia - he effectively avoided punishment.
Khomutynnyk's assistant and the “Ukrenergo scheme”
Former deputy chairman of the Kharkiv regional council, former regional representative and assistant to Vitaliy Khomutynnyk, Volodymyr Skorobagach, is another prominent representative of the “Kharkiv list.” The investigation believes that he organized a criminal group to steal electricity from the state-owned company Ukrenergo in the amount of more than 58 million UAH.
According to NABU, electricity was illegally obtained without payment, and then the proceeds from its sale were legalized through fictitious enterprises. The damage to the state is estimated at tens of millions of hryvnias, and the crime occurred during massive Russian shelling, when the power system was experiencing a critical deficit.
Skorobagach left Ukraine in time and now lives in France, from where he declares his “readiness to cooperate with the investigation.” The case is in court.
Other suspects with a Kharkiv trace
In addition to key individuals, other natives of Kharkiv also appear in the NABU and SAPO investigations:
• Serhiy Volyk, first deputy general director of “Kharkiv Heating Networks”, is suspected of embezzling funds allocated for restoration after the shelling.
• Former head of “Kharkivoblenergo” Kostyantyn Logvinenko is suspected of embezzling over UAH 12.5 million and attempting to seize another UAH 120 million. Together with him, Timur Mindich’s relative, Leonid Mindich, is being tried in the case.
• Andriy Rudenko, former deputy mayor of Terekhov, was arrested in the case of embezzling UAH 5.4 million from the construction of fortifications.
Anti-corruption investigations involving Kharkiv natives demonstrate the scale of systemic abuses that have eroded state resources for years. While trials are ongoing, a significant portion of those involved manage to flee the country, exposing another problem — an imperfect system of control and accountability.
High-profile cases may drag on for years, but they will determine whether the country is able to cleanse the government of the corrupt influence that has been building up in the highest offices for decades.
