The State Bureau of Investigation has notified former Minister Omelyan of the charges against him: details of the case
14 May 15:58
Officials from the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) have formally charged Ukraine’s former Minister of Infrastructure, Volodymyr Omelyan. After being mobilized, he served as an officer in the planning unit of a military unit’s headquarters, but failed to perform his official duties for an extended period of time.
This was reported by the agency’s press service , according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
The former minister was responsible for:
- The collection and analysis of information regarding the combat situation.
- Monitoring the execution of command orders.
- The preparation of proposals for combat planning.
According to the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), instead of fulfilling his duties, the official systematically misled leadership, claiming that he was performing other tasks related to logistics and support for the military unit’s operations. During several periods in 2022–2023, he spent his working hours at his own discretion and did not perform any duties related to military service at the unit stationed in the Cherkasy region.
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“The man was notified of suspicion under Part 4 of Article 409 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. This involves a military serviceman’s evasion of military service duties through deception, committed under martial law,” the SBI stated.
The article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 10 years.
According to a document published on the website of the Office of the Prosecutor General, the individual in question is former Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan.
UPDATE. Volodymyr Omelyan’s Response
In response to the State Bureau of Investigations’ allegations, former Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan stated that he considers the case politically motivated and links it to his criticism of the authorities.
He emphasized that he voluntarily joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and served in combat units, including on the front lines. According to Omelyan, he was involved in supplying the military with vehicles, drones, armor, and other equipment.
Omelyan also stated that after winning court cases regarding the reduction of port tariffs, new criminal proceedings were allegedly initiated against him. He claims that the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) opened the case in the fall of 2023 following a public campaign criticizing his service in the army.
The former minister reported that on August 25, 2024, law enforcement conducted large-scale searches at military units and residences associated with him. He also mentioned being wounded after Russian guided missiles struck his battalion’s position.
According to Omelyan, in the spring of 2025, he resigned from service due to his injuries and left for the United Kingdom. At the same time, he stated that following the new allegations, he plans to return to active politics.
“You can leave politics, but it will never leave you alone,” Omelyan wrote.
Who is Volodymyr Omelyan
Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Omelyan was born in Lviv on January 30, 1979.
Omelyan received an incomplete higher education in 2000, graduating from Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (Bachelor’s degree) with a major in “Finance and International Relations.” He completed his higher education the following year at Lviv Polytechnic National University (major in “Economics and Entrepreneurship”).
Omelyan began his career in the diplomatic sphere at the age of 21. From October 2000 to April 2001, he worked in the NATO and Western European Union (WEU) Division of the Euro-Atlantic Integration Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. By this time, he had already moved to Kyiv.
Later, Omelyan served as an attaché in the NATO and European Security Division of the Policy and Security Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, as well as an attaché in the Planning, Coordination, and Control Group of the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
From August 2002 to November 2006, he worked at the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to International Organizations in Vienna on a long-term assignment from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (first as Third Secretary and then as Second Secretary).
After that, Volodymyr Omelyan worked briefly at the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, but in April 2007 he returned to the diplomatic service. However, as early as January 2008, he moved to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, where he worked in the patronage service until March 2010.
In August 2010, Omelyan returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From April 2011 to June 2012, he worked in the Russian Federation Division of the First Territorial Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. For a time, he even headed the “Russian Division.”
From June 2012 to March 2014, Omelyan served as deputy director of the Department for Supporting the Minister of Finance. Until the end of 2014, he worked as head of the Cabinet of Ministers’ Ministerial Service. In December of that year, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Infrastructure— Chief of Staff. At that time, the ministry was headed by Andriy Pyvovarskyi.
During the Revolution of Dignity, Omelyan supported the protesters. He later joined the “People’s Front” political party, led by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. In December 2020, Omelyan joined the “European Solidarity” party of Ukraine’s fifth president, Petro Poroshenko.
Work at the Ministry of Infrastructure
As Deputy Minister, Volodymyr Omelyan focused on personnel policy, supporting a “purge” within the Ministry of Infrastructure and its subordinate enterprises. He also repeatedly stated that reforms in the infrastructure sector were being blocked by the “old team,” according to dsnews .
From the very beginning of his work at the Ministry of Infrastructure, Omelyan actively promoted the idea of increasing the ministry’s payroll. However, the Ministry of Finance did not accommodate the transport officials. In December 2015, Andriy Pyvovarskyi’s entire team submitted their resignations. The minister stated that the main reason for this action was low salaries.
Another priority of Omelyan’s work was the reform of Ukrzaliznytsia. Specifically, on April 8, 2016, he became the head of the company’s supervisory board. In August of that year, Yevhen Kravtsov, then First Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, was elected chairman of the Ukrzaliznytsia supervisory board.
In December 2015, Omelyan announced the arrival of the foreign taxi service Uber in Ukraine. He rejected accusations of lobbying for the company’s interests, stating that he wanted “healthy competition in Ukraine” in the passenger transportation market.
On April 14, 2016, under the quota of the People’s Front, Volodymyr Omelyan became head of the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine in Volodymyr Groysman’s government.
As minister, Omelyan advocated for transparent appointments of the heads of the largest state-owned transportation enterprises.
In May 2019, a few months before his dismissal as minister, Omelyan stated in an extensive interview that over four years of work at the Ministry of Infrastructure, he and his team “had accomplished 75% of what was planned in 2015.”
According to him, during this time Ukraine established the State Road Fund, launched large-scale road construction, developed a Transport Strategy, and attracted a low-cost carrier, “which contributed to a record increase in passenger traffic.” Omelyan began discussing the arrival of the Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair as early as March 2017. However, the airline did not begin operations in Ukraine until September 3, 2018. During its first 10 months of operation in Ukraine, Ryanair carried over 500,000 passengers.
In October 2018, Omelyan stated that a hyperloop-based high-speed train could be launched in Ukraine within the next five to ten years. He also promised to launch a Hyperloop test section as early as 2019. However, it was not until June 15, 2019, that Omelyan signed a cooperation agreement with Hyperloop Transportation. Omelyan’s successor as Minister of Infrastructure, Vladyslav Krykliy, stated on September 20, 2019, that there would be no Hyperloop in Ukraine. Moreover, he called the idea “utterly absurd.”
On August 29, 2019, Volodymyr Omelyan was dismissed from his post as Minister of Infrastructure.
On September 13, 2018, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), headed by Artem Sytnyk, notified Volodymyr Omelyan that he was suspected of illicit enrichment and providing false information in his declarations. Criminal case No. 52017000000000351 was registered on May 26, 2017, and pertained to the period when Omelyan served as Deputy Minister of Infrastructure.
On September 14, 2018, the Solomyanskyi District Court of Kyiv refused to impose a preventive measure in the form of a five-million-hryvnia bail on the Minister of Infrastructure. The then-Minister of Sports, Ihor Zhdanov, and People’s Deputy Fedir Benduzhenko of the “People’s Front” faction vouched for Omelyan.
On February 27, 2019, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine published a decision to repeal Article 368-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—on illegal enrichment. On April 3 of that year, the Solomyanskyi District Court of Kyiv closed the criminal proceedings against Omelyan regarding “illegal enrichment.” The charges of failure to declare assets remained. The case was finally closed in August 2020 by a decision of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC).
On February 22, 2019, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) filed charges against Omelyan for illegal enrichment. The minister himself denied the charges brought against him.
In April 2020, the HACC ordered NABU to open criminal proceedings against former Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan and his former subordinates for driving the state-owned enterprise “Berdyansk Sea Trade Port” into bankruptcy.
According to the investigation, in December 2017, Omelyan signed an order reducing all port fees (except for the lighthouse fee) by 20%. Since administrative fees constitute revenue for the state budget, only the Verkhovna Rada—not a minister—had the authority to change their amount. The NABU stated that Omelyan’s decision resulted in a loss of 30.4 million hryvnias to the state budget in 2018.
On June 19, NABU detectives notified Omelyan of their suspicion regarding this case. On June 26, the court released him on his own recognizance. Commenting on the case, the former minister explained that he had reduced port fees by 20% “to increase the flow of goods and cargo.” According to him, thanks to this reduction, “the maritime sector demonstrated growth.”
In early November 2020, the SAPO referred Omelyan’s case regarding the state budget’s loss of 30.4 million hryvnias to court. However, on November 16, the High Anti-Corruption Court postponed consideration of the case.
Early in the morning on June 12, 2020, officers from the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) conducted searches at the home where former Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan was living with his family at the time. According to the official version, the searches were conducted pursuant to a court order regarding the former owners of the home, which the former official was renting.
Omelyan and his associates are convinced that the searches conducted by the DBR were “a continuation of pressure on opponents of the current government.”
In November 2020, Volodymyr Omelyan stated that he had allegedly been promised a “promising position” and an “end to political persecution” in exchange for loyalty to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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