$45 Million in Crypto Donations for AFU Embezzled by Ukrainian Officials

The Office of the Prosecutor General is investigating allegations of embezzlement of $45 million in crypto donations intended for the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). The investigation focuses on officials from the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the KUNA exchange.

In 2022, the Ministry's website promoted links to crypto wallets for collecting funds for the AFU. These wallets were managed by the KUNA exchange. Initially, the crypto fund operated on a subdomain of the Ministry's site, but later a separate website was created at aid-for-ukraine.io.

The investigation found that $12.2 million in crypto assets were transferred to an American company, NEANY Inc., for strike drones. However, the contract between NEANY and the Ministry of Defence was never concluded due to lack of authority from the Ukrainian side.