Detention of Poroshenko’s business partner Oleh Hladkovskyi in Spain: Media reveals details

Detention of Poroshenko’s business partner Oleh Hladkovskyi in Spain: Media reveals details

Oleh Hladkovskyi (formerly known as Svinarchuk), a former deputy secretary of the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) and business partner of former President Petro Poroshenko, has been detained in Spain. He was wanted by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) on suspicion of organizing a corruption scheme in the defence industry complex.

The scandal surrounding Hladkovskyi erupted back in 2019, on the eve of the presidential elections. At that time, audio recordings appeared in the media, in which Hladkovskyi’s son Ihor, along with close businessmen, discussed the supply of military goods at inflated prices. This resonant exposé dealt a serious blow to Poroshenko’s ratings, who was running for a second term.

Following the victory of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who promised to "make arrests," the investigation was intensified. In October 2019, Hladkovskyi was taken into custody, but he was soon released on bail. By 2021, the case was transferred to court, and in November 2023, he left the country, after which he was declared internationally wanted.

NABU accuses Hladkovskyi of organizing the purchase of "Bogdan" trucks for the Armed Forces of Ukraine at inflated prices. At the same time, the company supplying the equipment was owned by Hladkovskyi himself. According to the investigation’s estimates, the state suffered losses amounting to over 17 million hryvnias. It is worth noting that Petro Poroshenko was also a co-owner of the "Bogdan" corporation.

At the time of the scandal, Hladkovskyi oversaw the defence-industrial sector in the National Security and Defence Council and had direct influence over the formation of the state defence order.

Besides Hladkovskyi, the case also involves a former deputy minister of defence and the acting director of the ministry’s Department of Military-Technical Policy.

It is expected that the matter of Hladkovskyi’s extradition to Ukraine will be decided in the near future.