Businessman-fugitive Serhiy Vahanyan slandered the Ukrainian government to obtain political asylum

The other day, fugitive businessman Serhiy Vahanyan gave an interview to fugitive blogger Boryslav Bereza and slandered the Ukrainian authorities in the TIC (Temporary Investigative Commission).

Vahanyan spoke at length about the alleged incredible corruption orchestrated in the SSU by its former head, Ivan Bakanov. Recently, a meeting of the TIC of the Verkhovna Rada took place regarding the facts mentioned in the interview. And right during the gathering, it became evident that the "whistleblower" was voicing false information.

"Truth" Convenient for Russian Occupiers

During a recent interview with blogger Boryslav Bereza, former Ukrainian entrepreneur Serhiy Vahanyan, who left for Austria a few years ago, shared many "juicy" details. He claimed that, under the personal directive of the former SSU head Ivan Bakanov, cases were opened or closed within the agency, and high-ranking positions could be obtained for multimillion-dollar "gratuities."

Vahanyan assured blogger Bereza, and later the people’s deputies at the TIC meeting, that he personally met with both Bakanov and even Zelenskyy. At those meetings, the businessman claimed, he witnessed multimillion-dollar corruption schemes in which they allegedly tried to involve him as well. Serhiy Vahanyan insists he did not succumb to the pressure and instead preserved photo and video evidence.

However, after fact-checking, the picture changes dramatically. In reality, the fugitive Vahanyan does not personally know the former SSU head and has never met him. The same applies to President Zelenskyy, whom both the guest and the blogger heavily criticized during the conversation. The entrepreneur claims the head of state was aware of the corruption and even had a "share" in it. But are there any real proofs to support this?

Furthermore, Serhiy Vahanyan alleges that Ivan Bakanov transferred money to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich through "Raiffeisen Bank," although there is no evidence to support this either. Additionally, according to our sources, the fugitive prepared "compromising material" on the former SSU leadership in advance and created a photomontage of so-called "evidence," which he now tries to pass off as original.

In reality, the "photos and videos" that the fraudster attempted to present to the deputies as evidence in the case of "large-scale corruption" in the SSU do not withstand any scrutiny. Some screenshots were created using artificial intelligence, and the objects in the photos do not match in scale. Such "evidence" was likely ordered by Vahanyan from some novice editor for a few thousand hryvnias.

Independent experts conducted an analysis of the images boasted by Serhiy Vahanyan. The examination revealed that, in their current form, the images lack sufficient evidentiary value and cannot be considered proper or admissible evidence. Due to the absence of materials necessary to verify the authenticity of the content, as well as signs of reduced quality during presentation, this directly indicates editing or other manipulations.

When Testimonies Don’t Match

However, former SSU head and current MP Valentyn Nalyvaichenko emphasized during the meeting of the relevant temporary investigative commission that he had never seen sofas like those in the photos presented by Vahanyan in the agency’s building. Thus, the photos were either not taken there or are indeed fabricated. Additionally, the fugitive claimed that Ivan Bakanov crossed the border after February 24, 2022, though he provided no evidence for this either.

Vahanyan went as far as to portray Vadym Kazartsev as a Kharkiv businessman who suffered from raider seizures orchestrated by SSU General Andriy Naumov, who once held the position of head of the internal security department in the agency. In reality, Vadym Kazartsev, nicknamed "Knyaz" (Prince), was a criminal authority, a raider, and had been convicted of murder.

In truth, the fraudster Serhiy Vahanyan, while in Ukraine, took loans from businessmen under personal obligations of General Naumov, promising 20% annual interest, only to later simply "scam" people. Naumov and Vahanyan have something else in common: both fled Ukraine at some point. The former was detained with money in Serbia, while Vahanyan hid funds in Ukraine and now wants to withdraw them but cannot. Therefore, he pretends to be a person facing political persecution from the current authorities.

Serhiy Vahanyan left for Austria in 2021, but even from there, he continued to "scam" Ukrainian entrepreneurs out of millions of dollars. He took money by promising businessmen first grain supplies and later fuel. Of course, after receiving the money, the swindler provided nothing in return. For example, six months ago, a victim of the fraudster was the former head of Kyiv’s tax service, now entrepreneur Ihor Skorokhod, whom the conman "tricked" out of 2 million dollars. With the misappropriated money, the pseudo-businessman not only lives in luxury in peaceful Austria but also runs a smear media campaign against the country’s top leadership.

Currently, Austrian police are actively cooperating with Ukrainian law enforcement, which is why they have seized the fugitive’s property in Austria. After all, it was acquired with funds obtained through fraud. Of course, he did not mention this in the interview. Vahanyan constantly provokes the investigation. He also lies about four assassination attempts on him, again without providing the slightest evidence. In reality, numerous businessmen deceived by the swindler are looking for him to recover their debts, so no one has a reason to kill the fraudster.

And a bit about the moral side. Serhiy Vahanyan turned out to be a swindler not only in business but also in his personal life. After divorcing his two previous wives, he appropriated all the money and property acquired during the marriages.

"Patriotic" Bloggers in the Service of the Kremlin

After the interview, the pseudo-businessman’s statements were actively picked up by bloggers associated with Petro Poroshenko’s circle, which includes the "whistleblower" Boryslav Bereza. By the way, about him. In the mentioned conversation, the blogger zealously listed the "hot spots" he allegedly visited during military service, while Bakanov, according to him, evaded duty.

In reality, on April 6, 2022, while in the Lviv region, TRC (Territorial Recruitment Center) employees attempted to hand Bereza a summons to register him as an internally displaced person. A second attempt occurred at the premises of a women’s monastery of the UGCC in Truskavets. In both cases, Boryslav Bereza called his lawyer and summoned the police. Later, in the presence of witnesses, he received the summons but never showed up at the TRC.

In August 2024, documents were submitted to the National Police of Ukraine to search for former MP Boryslav Bereza due to his evasion of military service. According to law enforcement, in March 2024, he left Ukraine by crossing the border with Moldova on foot. There is information that Bereza exited Ukraine on foot on March 25, 2024, at the Starokozache checkpoint. Since then, he has not returned.

Currently, according to law enforcement assessments, Boryslav Bereza is conducting a hybrid information policy in the interests of the Russian Federation. Therefore, he is being investigated for actions bearing signs of treason.