Ukraine’s allies want to know what money goes in and out of the invaded country, including through cryptocurrency, according to a prominent former advisor to the presidential office in Kyiv.
The financial investigation is allegedly part of Western pressure to end the bitter conflict in the Eastern European nation, which is now rising on Ukraine after it was recently ramped up against Russia.
Ukraine’s partners to press Kyiv by probing its cash
The West has commissioned an audit of funds sent to and withdrawn from Ukraine, Oleksii Arestovych, ex-advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, unveiled on social media.
In a post on his Telegram channel on Saturday, he pointed out that the inquest concerns transfers of misappropriated funds, particularly those made with cryptocurrencies.
Commenting on the news he highlighted, Arestovych insisted:
“This is the first serious step by Western partners in the fight against corruption in Ukraine. A large-scale audit has been launched by people who have extensive experience and capabilities in identifying corrupt funds.”
He suggested that the move is part of new pressure on Ukraine, which is yet to reach a deal with Russia to terminate the brutal war that has been going on mostly on its territory for over three years now.
Arestovych also reminded that Russia already received a “double ultimatum – sanctions are being imposed on the Russian Federation, and the West is threatening to supply Ukraine with long-range weapons and lift the ban on strikes deep inside the country.”
He was referring to fresh American and European sanctions on Russia, imposed earlier this week by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, frustrated over the lack of real effort on the part of Moscow towards peace, and the EU, which approved its 19th package of penalties, including measures against Russian crypto platforms.
In an excerpt from a conversation with independent Russian journalist and podcaster Yulia Latynina, attached to his Telegram post, the Ukrainian politician also revealed that the investigation has been ordered by the British government.
London has hired a “very serious” auditing company and asked it to check all cryptocurrency transfers to and from Ukraine, he elaborated. Without providing further details, he also noted:
“This is already serious. It looks like a financial investigation of the machinations of Ukrainian authorities … It’s the first serious news about Western auditing of Ukrainian corruption.”
Arestovych added “this sounds like pressure on both sides” and recalled President Trump’s recent statements that each of the two warring nations would have to make concessions.
Arestovych has been right before
Oleksii Arestovych is known for pretty accurately predicting Russia’s invasion back in 2019. In late 2020, the former military intelligence officer was appointed advisor on strategic communications in the field of national security and defense to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak.
He played a role in mobilizing the Ukrainian society to halt the initial trust of Russia’s army into their country in early 2022, when Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor following years of intervening in support of pro-Russian forces across the border.
At the time, he held daily briefings on the current situation on the battlefield and beyond, while his appearances in a YouTube podcast, discussing the latest developments, secured him significant following in Ukraine and in the Russian-speaking segment of the Internet.
In August 2022, Arestovych made public his intentions to run for president of Ukraine. He fell out of favor with Zelenskyy’s administration after that, and especially following a comment in early 2023, suggesting that a Russian missile had hit a residential building in the city of Dnipro after being diverted by a Ukrainian air defense strike.
Amid strong reactions to his explanation, he apologized and then resigned his post in mid-January 2023, but remained active in the public online space, increasing criticism of Zelenskyy’s rule and calling for presidential elections despite the ongoing war.
Arestovych left Ukraine following calls from officials in Kyiv for his arrest amid accusations of his being a Russian spy, with his name on a list of suspected terrorists and extremists. He is currently believed to be residing mainly in the United States.
