In Bratislava, police arrested a 50-year-old Ukrainian citizen who had been wanted internationally for years. He is suspected of embezzling 4.4 million euros. The man had been hiding from justice for a long time, but he was found during a routine check.
Details of the arrest and charges
The man was arrested in Bratislava on July 24, 2026. According to Ukrainian law enforcement officers, he was one of the leaders of a sports federation in Ukraine. He is suspected of organizing a scheme to withdraw funds from the Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU), which caused losses of almost 295 million hryvnias (approximately 4.4 million euros).
According to the investigation, a network of over 25 fictitious companies was used to implement the scheme. Fake contracts for the supply of goods that existed only on paper were concluded with them — for example, seafood, elite varieties of tea, coffee, and electrical equipment. Due to these actions, the FFU and its regional branches suffered multi-million euro losses.
Extradition procedure
As reported by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Ruslan Kravchenko, the Prosecutor General's Office has already begun the extradition procedure for the detained man. A letter of intent to submit an extradition request and a request for temporary detention has been sent to the relevant Slovak authorities.
The arrest was made possible through the cooperation of Ukrainian and Slovak law enforcement officers. If the man's guilt is proven, under Ukrainian law, he faces up to 12 years in prison. The final decision on his extradition will be made by a court in Slovakia.
Ukrainian law enforcement agencies note that they continue to work on returning suspects who try to evade responsibility abroad to Ukraine.
