"160 billion hryvnias were siphoned off through border guards": Nikolov on shell deal. VIDEO
Investigative journalist Yuriy Nikolov has claimed that, over two years under Serhii Deineka’s leadership, the State Border Guard Service channelled 160 billion hryvnias through two foreign intermediary companies for the purchase of ammunition.
He made these remarks on Radio NV, according to Censor.NET.
Procurement of ammunition via the State Border Guard Service
According to Nikolov, under Deineka’s leadership, the State Border Service has become a "front" for the misappropriation of vast sums of money.
"And so, I am sincerely convinced that Deyneka’s agency, under his leadership, was involved in various shady deals. And this deal involving ammunition, I think, will ultimately become a record-breaking one in Ukraine’s history. This hasn’t been widely reported on the airwaves, but in reality, 160 billion hryvnias were channelled through the border guards over two years. That is, not 80 million, not 23 billion, but 160 billion hryvnias, which simply passed through the border guards into the hands of two rather interesting foreign companies that acted solely as intermediaries in the delivery of ammunition," said the journalist.
Because of this artificial monopoly, according to Nikolov, prices for ammunition skyrocketed, and the supplies themselves were irregular.
"That is why the story of the border guards and the shells, involving the companies that supplied them, is still awaiting resolution by NABU. There is definitely a criminal investigation into this matter. Now it is a question of time and the efforts of detectives capable of bringing this story to a logical conclusion," said the investigator.
The case regarding the procurement of UAVs
In addition, Nikolov commented on the recent announcement of charges by NABU and the SAPO in the case of fraud involving the procurement of UAVs for the State Border Guard Service.
Based on an analysis of the case materials, the journalist notes that the scheme had been agreed with the agency’s top brass, but ‘fell apart’ because the tender organiser launched an open tender.
When asked whether it could be assumed that the officially announced suspicion against a former State Border Service official was directed specifically at the service’s former head, Deyneka, Nikolov replied:
"You know, here you just have to be absolutely certain who the suspicion is directed at. It is quite possible that it is Deyneka. Since the case materials that were made public contained an episode where the businessman from whom a kickback was demanded for all this received a call from someone in the border guard service, and he said: ‘I’m sitting here next to so-and-so, and everything that will subsequently be passed on to you in terms of demands has been agreed with the Border Guard Service administration.’ So it is by no means out of the question that it could have been Deyneka. All the more so given that the sum involved is, well, effectively almost a billion hryvnias – that’s the value of the procurement. Well, it’s quite obvious that, you know, this isn’t the level of some major; this is the level of someone in the border service leadership," the journalist believes.
What led up to this?
- As a reminder, on 29 May, the SAPO notified an official of the State Border Guard Service and the owner of a private drone manufacturing company of their suspicion of extorting $1 million. Law enforcement authorities have not disclosed the names of those involved.
- On 31 May, the High Anti-Corruption Court imposed preventive measures on an official of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and the owner of a private drone manufacturing company.
Suspicions against the former head of the State Border Guard Service in a cigarette smuggling case
- In January 2026, NABU and the SAPO carried out a search at the home of former State Border Guard Service head Deyneko.
- NABU reported that in 2023, a group of individuals organised the illegal smuggling of cigarettes across Ukraine’s state border into the EU. This was facilitated by senior officials of the State Border Guard Service, who, in return, received illicit benefits on a regular basis.
- The former head of the State Border Guard Service is among the suspects.
- On 30 January 2026, the High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a preventive measure on Deyneko.
- On 4 February 2026, bail of 10 million hryvnias was posted for the former head of the State Border Guard Service, Serhiy Deyneka, who is suspected of involvement in smuggling .
- Later, the media reported that Deyneko had been mobilised and would head the Third Border Detachment.
