Nazarii Husakov charged with defrauding donors of over 1.3 million hryvnias – Office of Prosecutor General
Law enforcement officials have charged 31-year-old Nazarii Husakov with fraud related to charitable fundraising for treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The Lviv resident defrauded donors of over 1.3 million hryvnias.
This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General and the National Police, cites Censor.NET.
It is noted that his charity campaign was actively promoted through social media, Telegram channels, online platforms (PayPal, BuyMeACoffee, etc.), and involved public figures and influencers who helped spread the fundraising.
Meanwhile, according to the Lviv City Council, the treatment in question was being provided to him free of charge at the time of the fundraising.
During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained showing that Husakov embezzled funds from individuals and legal entities totaling over 1.3 million hryvnias.
The collected funds were not fully used for their intended purpose but were mostly spent on personal needs, gambling, and investments in cryptocurrencies, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Husakov has been charged in absentia with embezzlement by fraud under Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. In June of this year, Nazarii left the country.
Additionally, law enforcement questioned over 400 people as witnesses and victims, and identified thousands of transactions totaling over 100 million hryvnias made by individuals as "charitable" donations.
The exact number of individuals who made charitable donations to the suspect has not yet been determined.
Analysis is ongoing, but the total transactions number in the thousands. It has been established that over 1,200 people donated amounts exceeding 10,000 hryvnias, according to the Office of the Prosecutor General.
The case of Nazarii Husakov
Previously, 31-year-old Nazarii Husakov, suffering from a rare genetic disease SMA (spinal muscular atrophy) requiring expensive treatment, was accused of potentially embezzling millions in donations and diverting them not to treatment but to online casinos and cryptocurrency.
Husakov, as the most well-known person with SMA in Ukraine, was supported by several Ukrainian media outlets and public figures, including bihus.info, Serhii Sternenko, Ihor Lachenko, Lviv Mayor Andrii Sadovyi, and others.
Suspicious fundraising and lack of reporting were first flagged by social media users. Users on platform X asked Nazarii to provide proof of payment for the medications he was raising funds for, but the activist did not respond to these requests. Users found inconsistencies in his statements about the monthly quantity of medicine and identical photos posted on his Telegram channel purportedly as proof of purchased drugs.
Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Ihor Klymenko, briefed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the situation regarding fundraising for Nazarii Husakov and possible fraud cases.
