Ukraine returns another 700,000 euros in Polygraph Combine case
Ukraine has returned another 700,000 euros that had been seized in France as part of an investigation into a corruption scheme at the state enterprise "Polygraph Combine 'Ukraine'". One of the accused admitted guilt and agreed to compensate the damage caused. The total amount of funds returned from abroad in this case has reached 4.5 million euros.
This was reported on October 9 by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP).
According to law enforcement, 700,000 euros had previously been seized from the accused's bank accounts in France. After the conclusion of a plea agreement and its approval by the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine, the French side agreed to unfreeze the funds.
The money has already been transferred directly to the account of the state enterprise "Polygraph Combine 'Ukraine'" as compensation for the damage caused.
Consent to lift the seizure was provided by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office of France. The return of funds was the result of joint work by NABU detectives, SAP prosecutors, and law enforcement agencies of France and Estonia.
Coordination support for the investigation was provided by Eurojust, the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR), and the OECD GLEN and GFAR Action Series platforms.
This is already the third return of funds from abroad within this criminal proceeding.
In October 2025, the French company SURYS transferred 3.37 million euros to the Ukrainian state. In June 2026, another 450,000 euros that had also been seized in France were recovered.
From the June receipt, 400,000 euros were directed to the state enterprise, and 50,000 euros were transferred to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine through the "Come Back Alive" foundation.
After the new transfer of 700,000 euros, the total amount of assets returned from abroad in the case amounted to about 4.5 million euros.
The investigation concerns an international corruption scheme in the procurement of security elements for Ukrainian documents, including foreign passports, ID cards, and driver's licenses.
According to NABU and SAP, in 2013 the then head of the Polygraph Combine acquired a company in Estonia through front persons and made it a mandatory intermediary for the purchase of security holograms from a French manufacturer.
The Estonian company purchased products directly from the manufacturer, then resold them to the Ukrainian state enterprise at prices inflated by four to six times.
The investigation estimates the damage from this scheme at about 500 million hryvnias.
In addition, the former head of the enterprise is accused of receiving unlawful benefits in the form of copyrights to the design of security elements of documents. These rights were subsequently used to obtain license payments.
According to the investigation, from 2018 to 2021 alone, about 7 million euros of such payments were received into the accounts of the controlled Estonian company. Later, part of the money was laundered through offshore structures.
In August 2026, NABU and SAP sent an indictment to the court against the former director of the Polygraph Combine and one of the heads of the enterprise's divisions.
At the same time, for individual episodes of the corruption scheme, the High Anti-Corruption Court has already issued guilty verdicts to four participants. Based on concluded plea agreements, almost 180 million hryvnias were converted to state revenue, about 6 million hryvnias were directed to support the Defense Forces, and more than 20 million hryvnias were compensated to the enterprise.
The joint investigation team continues to work to bring the other participants of the alleged scheme to justice and to recover assets.
Based on materials from: NABU, Ukrinform, NABU — investigation materials.
