The scandalous rise of Mykhaylo Stefanishyn: How the ex-husband of the Deputy Prime Minister became a businessman with access to state property

The scandalous rise of Mykhaylo Stefanishyn: How the ex-husband of the Deputy Prime Minister became a businessman with access to state property

Mykhaylo Stefanishyn, the former husband of the Minister of Justice — Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna, is allegedly the owner of a company that received a number of attractive assets from ARMA for management. The most famous of these is the Trade Unions’ House on Maidan. Moreover, he was a law enforcement officer who got involved in numerous scandals due to domestic violence and traffic violations.

A few weeks ago, Stefanishyn purchased a 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class (the price can reach $100,000). Despite the fact that he is still registered in a dormitory, his income has increased significantly in recent years. From a law enforcement officer’s position with a salary of 8,000 UAH per month, he became a successful entrepreneur and millionaire.

We researched several companies related to Stefanishyn, found a Russian link in them, and figured out how a former police officer managed to create one of the most successful management companies. The first publication is about Stefanishyn’s personal life.

And although Stefanishyn’s financial situation has improved, his habits have not changed. The police issued him a protocol for drunk driving at least three times. Each time, Stefanishyn managed to get these protocols annulled. The fact that the former police officer abuses alcohol was stated in court during the divorce process by his wife — the current Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna. She also noted that her husband used to beat her. Several years after the divorce, she had to prohibit him from approaching her or messaging her.

Stefanishyn did not just call his ex-wife. He stalked her: wrote messages, inquired about her from her subordinates, met her after work, spread rumors about her, threatened the woman.

Mykhaylo Stefanishyn and His Numerous Scandals

A few months ago, the media actively discussed the singer Kamaliya, who allegedly became a victim of domestic violence after her divorce from a billionaire. Some websites published her photos with bruises. The aggressor was named as Mykhaylo Stefanishyn, allegedly Kamaliya’s boyfriend. This information was not confirmed by any of the potential conflict parties.

However, there indeed was a connection between Kamaliya and Mykhaylo Stefanishyn. On behalf of the NGO European Ukrainian Council of Cooperation and Development (EUCCD), he signed a memorandum with the Zaporizhzhya City Council. Kamaliya Zakhur became another signatory as the newly appointed ambassador of the company. Such NGOs usually do not have ambassadors. Moreover, Kamaliya is the only ambassador of the EUCCD. It is likely that this position was created specifically for her.

The GetContact service shows that Stefanishyn’s phone number is tagged as "Kamaliya’s director." But Stefanishyn became famous because of an investigation by UP. It mentioned that a company allegedly owned by Stefanishyn — MC "KAMparitet" — received most of the ARMA contracts.

Stefanishyn is introduced in the material as the former husband of the Minister of Justice — Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna. Although it is mentioned in the article that Mykhaylo Stefanishyn’s former colleague from his time in the National Police — Vitaliy Chubayevskyi — is currently working at ARMA as the director of the asset search department. This indicates that Stefanishyn’s connection with ARMA exists without his ex-wife.

OBOZ.UA investigated the career of Mykhaylo Stefanishyn and discovered a number of strange coincidences. As recently as 2019, Stefanishyn was unemployed. He did not own real estate or officially own a car. Before that, he worked in the Cyberpolice Department of the National Police of Ukraine with an average salary of 8,200 UAH per month.

Mykhaylo Stefanishyn tried to become a prosecutor of a local prosecutor’s office, but he did not pass the competition. By that time, Olha Stefanishyna was no longer his wife.

Olha Stefanishyna divorced Stefanishyn in 2017. In the Primorsk District Court of Odesa, she stated that her husband abuses alcoholic beverages and beats her. "The plaintiff indicated that the defendant abuses alcohol and repeatedly used physical and psychological violence against her, which negatively affects their common children, who fall ill due to the constant arguments between their parents," the case materials state.

Olha Stefanishyna’s statements are confirmed by the number of administrative orders against her ex-husband. On November 16, 2018, Mykhaylo Stefanishyn was stopped while driving an Audi A7 intoxicated.

"Was driving an AUDI A7 vehicle with signs of alcohol intoxication: alcohol smell from the oral cavity, unsteady gait, facial redness, coordination violations. Refused to undergo a sobriety test in the legally established manner," the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv noted in its resolution. The proceedings in the case were closed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for administrative liability.

It is likely that by 2022, Stefanishyn switched from an AUDI A7 to an AUDI A8. Because it was in this car that he was in a state of alcohol intoxication. The police issued him a protocol, but he managed to challenge it in court: the patrol officers could not prove that Stefanishyn was driving the car. When they approached the car, the man got out of it. And though there was no one else around besides the drunk Stefanishyn, the court did not find an offense.

Stefanishyn pulled a similar trick in November 2023. The police fined him for driving an AUDI A8 intoxicated, and this time he even took a "Drager Alcotest 6820" test that registered intoxication (1.23% BAC). But the man managed to get out of the car, so the police body camera recording did not show who was driving. Stefanishyn again remained unpunished.

According to OBOZ.UA, the white Audi A8 was purchased by Stefanishyn on October 21, 2021. And on June 10, 2025, the former police officer bought a white 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class. Currently, such a car costs up to $100,000.

Incidentally, according to our data, there is another beating complaint from Stefanishyn’s former girlfriend filed with the police. While intoxicated, he hit the girl. Her name is also well known (she is a public figure).

Stefanishyn Stalked the Future Deputy Prime Minister. She Had to Obtain a Court Order

Just two years after the divorce, in 2019, Stefanishyna filed another lawsuit against her ex-husband. This time she requested the Solomianskyi District Court of Kyiv to issue a restraining order prohibiting Mykhaylo Stefanishyn from stalking her.

"He constantly stalks her, follows her to work and her place of residence, constantly writes messages in various messengers containing insults and threats, often calls from unknown numbers," Stefanishyna described her ex-husband’s behavior in court.

Stefanishyn wrote to the current Deputy Prime Minister’s subordinates and colleagues, threatened them. The court prohibited the man from approaching Olha Stefanishyna closer than one hundred meters, writing or calling her.

"According to the screenshots of messages provided by the applicant, the court sees intrusiveness and threatening content in the messages. In addition, the provided screenshots confirm the applicant’s arguments regarding the actions of the former husband, which consist in collecting information about her from other persons," the court decision states.

However, Olha and Mykhaylo Stefanishyn still continued to communicate. In its investigation, UP noted that at the end of 2022, Stefanishyna visited the head of the autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Epiphaniy with her ex-husband.

As the press service of the Kyiv Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church noted at the time, "His Beatitude awarded Olha Stefanishyna with the Order of Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga." "The meeting was also attended by Mykhaylo Stefanishyn and the head of the service of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Dmytro Kaplun."