Lawsuit for 38 million: Estonian organization "Glory to Ukraine" demands compensation for damages from Lviv ex-official Vaskiv

Lawsuit for 38 million: Estonian organization "Glory to Ukraine" demands compensation for damages from Lviv ex-official Vaskiv

The non-governmental Estonian public organization «Glory to Ukraine», which transferred aid to Ukraine through the fund of Lviv resident Hennadiy Vaskiv, has filed a civil lawsuit for compensation totaling over 38 million UAH, which it plans to transfer to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

This was reported by the former board member of the NGO «Glory to Ukraine» and its liquidator Ilmar Raag

It is noted that the NGO demands compensation for damages due to the misuse of donations and reputational harm associated with the former head of the organization Johanna-Maria Lehtme and her Ukrainian partners. This concerns the former deputy mayor of Lviv Hennadii Vaskiv, who at the beginning of 2022 founded the charitable fund «All for Victory», and is now under suspicion of embezzling charitable aid from Estonia.

As reported by Ilmar Raag, the NGO has filed a civil lawsuit for compensation of approximately over 18 million UAH in financial damages and about 20 million UAH in reputational harm. In the civil lawsuit, the organization described several episodes of misuse of funds collected from donations in Estonia during 2023-2025; however, Ilmar Raag noted that «a recurring pattern shows that funds from Estonian donors are used for projects in Ukraine, with a significant portion redirected as profit to IC Construction».

If the court satisfies the lawsuit of the NGO «Slava Ukraini», all compensated funds will be transferred to the official account for donations to the Armed Forces. «Such activities correspond to the fulfillment of the goals outlined in the charter of the public organization “Glory to Ukraine”», – states Ilmar Raag’s message.

The Office of the Prosecutor General reported that the civil lawsuit was filed by representatives of the charitable organization in Ukraine. The law firm «Ilyashev & Partners», which represents the interests of «Slava Ukraini», stated that the civil lawsuit concerns over 38 million UAH in total. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for April 8.

«This case is principled not only for our client but also for the entire volunteer movement. We are using all legal mechanisms to recover funds that should be directed to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine», – said lawyer Roman Marchenko.

What is known about the embezzlement case of humanitarian aid from Estonia

In April 2023, a public scandal erupted in Estonia and Ukraine – the Estonian parliament deputy and head of the charitable organization MTU Glory to Ukraine Johanna-Maria Lehtme was accused of misappropriating 1.5 million euros, which the charitable fund transferred to the Lviv company IC Construction. This company is linked to the charitable fund of former deputy mayor of Lviv Hennadii Vaskiv and belongs to his relatives.

The investigation established that in 2021, Hennadiy Vaskiv, together with an accomplice, created LLC «IC Construction», but listed a longtime acquaintance Oleksandr Chernov as the founder. After the start of the full-scale invasion, the accomplice suggested that Hennadii Vaskiv liquidate the company, but he refused and offered to withdraw money from the company’s accounts and manage it independently thereafter. In December 2022, he added his brother’s wife Marta Liuta as a beneficiary of the company.

In March 2022, Hennadiy Vaskiv created the charitable fund «All for Victory», through which in May he signed a memorandum of partnership with the Estonian charitable organization MTU Glory to Ukraine, founded by Estonian MP Johanna-Maria Lehtme. In August 2022, as the investigation claims, Hennadiy Vaskiv decided to appropriate the charitable donations collected by MTU Glory to Ukraine. In particular, he withdrew money from Estonian donors to the accounts of the firm controlled by him «IC Construction». The investigation believes that the prices of goods purchased with donations were inflated. Thus, from September 2022 to March 2023, Vaskiv withdrew 1.55 million euros (over 59 million UAH at the current NBU rate) to the accounts of the controlled firm.

In addition, through inflating the cost of goods, the fund’s manager could have appropriated over 18 million UAH. Hennadiy Vaskiv is also suspected of misappropriating 772 thousand UAH from the European Investment Bank. His fund, through the intermediary firm «IC Construction», was to supply self-heating food kits, the cost of which was also inflated.

Even during the pre-trial investigation, Hennadiy Vaskiv left the country under the guise of transporting humanitarian aid and did not return. Later, his family also left the country. Hennadiy Vaskiv is charged with using charitable donations for profit, committed during martial law on a particularly large scale (Part 3 of Article 201-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).