Zelenskyy urged to reinstate sanctions against smuggler Seyar Kurshutov over Russian passport and billion-hryvnia state contracts

25 лютого 2026 р., 17:06

Олена Юрченко 628 0

Ukrainian volunteer and influencer Ihor Lachenkov (Lachen) has publicly called on the country’s leadership to reinstate National Security and Defense Council sanctions against businessman Seyar Kurshutov.

The initiative has already gained support from public figures and politicians: a corresponding petition has been registered on the government’s website, while law enforcement agencies are being urged to investigate billion-hryvnia contracts awarded to companies linked to him by Ukraine’s defense institutions.

In a post on his Telegram channel, Lachenkov drew public attention to the activities of Seyar Kurshutov, whose personal sanctions quietly expired in the spring of 2024. The blogger expressed outrage that a person associated with numerous scandals continues to operate freely in Ukraine and allegedly influence state institutions.

“How can someone with a Russian passport continue to live comfortably in Ukraine and once again interfere in state affairs?” Lachen wrote.

According to the volunteer, Kurshutov not only holds Russian citizenship but also continues to own businesses in occupied Crimea, allegedly paying taxes to the budget of the aggressor state. Moreover, Lachenkov claims that following the expiration of sanctions, the businessman restored his influence over shadowy state processes and effectively oversees operations at the Kyiv and Mykolaiv customs offices.

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Lachenkov’s call was supported by public figure and former head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration, Heorhii Tuka, who published documents that he says confirm Kurshutov obtained Russian citizenship in 2014. Tuka officially registered an electronic petition on the website of Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers demanding the immediate reinstatement of sanctions against Kurshutov.

Tuka also called on law enforcement agencies to launch a large-scale investigation. The key question raised by the politician is how a person holding a Russian passport and previously included on the NSDC sanctions list as a “smuggling king” was able to gain access to state funds during a full-scale war.

The issue concerns companies allegedly linked to Kurshutov that secured government contracts worth approximately one billion hryvnias. According to an investigation by RBC-Ukraine, Kurshutov-linked firms have appeared in large-scale corruption schemes related to supplying the Ukrainian military.

In particular, companies associated with him reportedly became major suppliers to the Defense Procurement Agency (DPA) and the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection. Ukraine’s Bureau of Economic Security (BEB) is currently investigating these contracts. According to investigators, the prices of products supplied to the front line — including drones — may have been artificially inflated by more than 300%.

Investigative journalists have also reported on alleged methods used to legalize these profits. According to media reports, proceeds from government contracts may have been transferred abroad and laundered in Vienna. The mechanism allegedly involved the Russian perfume franchise Zielinski & Rozen, whose Austrian operations are officially owned by members of the Kurshutov family.

The same franchise recently became the focus of another public controversy after it emerged that the Kurshutov family, through the Zielinski & Rozen brand, had acted as an official sponsor of the prestigious Vienna Ball. Amid growing public criticism and concerns over the situation, Kyiv’s TSUM department store decided to terminate all cooperation with the franchise and removed the brand’s products from its retail space.