From preventing billion-dollar budget losses to shadow economy reduction in markets: The result of the ESBU's work for the first half of the year is 19.509 billion UAH

 The cumulative result of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine's work during the period of systemic transformation is 19.509 billion UAH. Billions of hryvnias in returned and preserved funds for the state, legalized turnover, reduction of the shadow share in key markets, and large schemes that lost the ability to operate—these are the exact indicators used to measure the Bureau's efficiency for the first half of 2026. It is important not just to detect a violation or open criminal proceedings. The task of the ESBU is to change the economic environment so that working honestly is more profitable than remaining in the shadows. This was reported by the Director of the ESBU, Oleksandr Tsyvinskyi, on his Telegram channel.

The ESBU measures the result of its activity through three complementary components:

1. Funds returned to the budget of 1.790 billion UAH:

• reimbursement of damages in completed criminal proceedings - 1.77 billion UAH;
• assets for the needs of the AFU - 19.5 million UAH.

2. Prevented losses of the budget and business of 3.903 billion UAH:

• prevention of illegal use of risky VAT tax credit - 3 billion UAH;
• prevention of illegal VAT reimbursement from the budget - 115 million UAH;
• prevention of budget losses through risky procurement - 32.5 million UAH;
• prevention of excise tax losses through the seizure of counterfeit goods - 659 million UAH;
• protection of legal business through the seizure of counterfeit goods - 96.3 million UAH.

3. Shadow economy reduction in markets of 13.816 billion UAH:

• fuel and lubricants - 12.4 billion UAH;
• electronics - 1.1 billion UAH;
• import of plants (flowers) – 316.4 million UAH.

Thus, the result of the ESBU for the first half of the year was 19.509 billion UAH.

During this period, 1 billion UAH was allocated from the state budget for the maintenance of the ESBU.

«This is exactly how, I believe, the result of the ESBU's work should be evaluated. And this is part of the changes in the Bureau—the transition to evaluating the real impact on the economy. Not by the number of opened cases. Because a case in the register by itself does not change the economy yet. The result is when money remains with the state. When the scheme stops working. When running a business legally becomes more profitable than looking for workarounds,»- noted the Director of the ESBU.

A significant part of the economic effect is provided by the ESBU even before the money is actually lost. Thanks to analytical measures, it was possible to prevent the use of a risky VAT tax credit for 3 billion UAH and prevent a possible illegal VAT reimbursement from the budget for another over 115 million UAH.

Information-analytical units of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine identify risks in the field of public procurement and help state procurers avoid the inefficient use of funds. The work of the ESBU in the field of public procurement is aimed not only at responding to violations but also at preventing them—thanks to analytics, risk assessment, and interaction with managers of budget funds.

According to the results of the analysis of procurement in the budget sphere, in the first half of 2026, the ESBU prevented potential state budget losses by reducing contract amounts by 32.5 million UAH.

In addition, for 9 procurements, decisions were made to terminate contracts for a total amount of 168.5 million UAH due to identified violations. Currently, these procurements have not been re-announced.

That is, the ESBU not only investigates offenses already committed but also works proactively: it identifies a risk, establishes a scheme, and blocks it before it turns into losses for the budget.

Where an offense has already occurred, the requirement is different - the case must give the state a tangible result.

In the first half of 2026, thanks to the measures taken, 1.77 billion UAH was reimbursed to the budget in completed criminal proceedings. In addition, property worth 738 million UAH was seized, and excise products and equipment worth 901 million UAH were removed from illegal turnover.

In the first half of the year, ESBU detectives initiated investigations in 1,422 criminal proceedings, notified 658 persons of suspicion, and referred 463 criminal proceedings to court. Among them are 19 proceedings against 85 persons on the facts of committing criminal offenses as part of organized groups and criminal organizations.

The ESBU destroys the material base of schemes rather than just seizing goods. That is, it eliminates the very sources of its appearance. It deprives the organizers of industrial lines, seizes machines and vehicles, and blocks logistics chains. Without equipment and raw materials, the restoration of shadow business becomes economically impossible.

It also does not accumulate cases for the sake of reporting. Each investigation ends with a tangible effect for the state: reimbursed damages, blocked assets, and a liquidated scheme that can no longer be launched again.

The systemic nature of this approach is best demonstrated by the fuel market. Just a few years ago, a third of the market - 34% - was in the shadows. Today, this figure is 9%. The ESBU, together with its partners, identified 588 gas stations, some of which operated without the necessary permits, and some did not correspond to the actual state of the market. Based on the results of the processing, 133 illegal gas stations were dismantled, and measures were taken within administrative and criminal proceedings regarding a number of other objects. Separately, the ESBU introduced constant monitoring of gas stations that ceased operations to prevent the return of illegal schemes.

However, the real result is not the 133 dismantled objects. It is that a portion of sales shifted from the shadow to the legal sector.

The results of the fuel market shadow economy reduction are most objectively demonstrated not only by the growth of revenues but also by the actual volumes of sales through RRO (cash registers). This indicator does not depend on changes in prices or tax rates.

In the first half of 2026, the volumes of legal fuel sales through RRO increased by 342 million liters, or by 9.4%. At the same time, the revenue from fuel sales increased by 84.52 billion UAH, or by 46.2%.

This indicates that the market growth occurred not only due to price increases but also thanks to an increase in the real volumes of legal sales.

During the same period, tax revenues from fuel increased from 49.22 billion UAH to 67.73 billion UAH - by 18.51 billion UAH, or 37.6%.

Even taking into account the increase in excise tax rates, the additional growth in revenues, which cannot be explained by tax changes alone, amounts to 12.4 billion UAH, or 25.3%. It is this part that serves as an indirect indicator of the positive effect from the shadow economy reduction of the fuel market.

Also important is not just seizing another batch of counterfeit goods but also depriving the organizers of the illegal business of the capacities that manufacture it again and again.

In the first half of the year, in the areas of countering the illegal turnover of tobacco and vape products, the ESBU stopped the activity of 20 illegal productions and seized 9 industrial production lines.

One of the largest examples is the shutdown in Chernivtsi Oblast of the largest underground cigarette production facility in the history of the Bureau, where equipment, products, and property worth over 200 million UAH were seized.

Another operation simultaneously covered 12 regions of Ukraine: more than 100 searches, during which production lines, components, and electronic cigarettes worth over 150 million UAH were seized. In Lviv Oblast and Kharkiv Oblast, two underground productions capable of jointly producing over 130,000 packs of cigarettes daily were liquidated.

Another direction of the ESBU's systemic work is countering conversion centers that provide shadow turnover of funds, the formation of fictitious tax credits, and the legalization of goods of dubious origin. The Bureau identifies not only individual enterprises but also the entire infrastructure of such schemes: controlled companies and individual entrepreneurs, financial flows, accounts, and persons who ensure their operation.

One example is a conversion center exposed by the ESBU with a turnover of up to 18 billion UAH, the services of which were used by more than 200 enterprises. About 500 controlled entities were involved in the operation of the scheme. The special operation involved conducting over 40 searches and detaining four suspects accused of committing a criminal offense. As a result, 10 participants in the crime were brought to liability.

A separate marker of changes was the work with the artificial splitting of businesses. According to ESBU estimates, about 30% of active individual entrepreneurs can be used as a tool for such splitting. Therefore, the Bureau focused its attention not only on individual violations but also on the analysis of entire business models and the identification of systemic risks.

The Bureau processed over 68 materials regarding risky operations worth more than 6 billion UAH. But the most important result was that businesses began to change their behavior.

After the analytical work, explanations, and interaction with business, six large retail chains publicly announced their refusal of splitting schemes and began transitioning to the general taxation system.

According to ESBU calculations, the full transition of this business to a transparent model of operation is capable of providing the economy with up to 12.5 billion UAH in additional revenues.

The ESBU applies a new approach to working with individual markets through constant dialogue with industry representatives, risk analysis, and a joint search for solutions. The goal of such work is not only to detect violations but to create conditions under which it is more profitable for companies to operate transparently.

One example was the interaction with the household appliances and electronics market. The ESBU conducted an analysis of the industry, discussed problematic issues with its representatives, and identified the main risks: the sale of goods without proper reflection of operations, the non-use of cash registers, unofficial employment, and other methods of avoiding tax liabilities.

Following the work carried out, the number of business entities in the field of household appliances conducting settlement operations through RRO increased from 6.5 thousand in October 2025 to 7.1 thousand in May 2026. For the first six months of 2026, the revenue through RRO in the field of household appliances amounted to 104.4 billion UAH compared to 79.7 billion UAH for the same period in 2025. The growth amounted to 24.7 billion UAH, or 31%.

Also, during the first half of 2026, the share of officially imported and activated Apple devices grew significantly.

While in the first half of 2025, 21.2% of Apple devices out of the total number of activations were activated through official channels; during the same period of 2026, this indicator rose to 37.1%. That is, the share of official supplies increased by 1.75 times.

In quantitative terms, the number of official activations grew from 98.4 thousand to 204.3 thousand devices—more than double.

At the same time, the value of officially activated devices rose from 115.5 million dollars to 239.8 million dollars. The increase amounted to 124.3 million dollars, or 107.7%. In hryvnia equivalent, this is about 5.68 billion UAH, which corresponds to approximately 1.1 billion UAH of potential VAT effect for the budget.

These indicators testify to a gradual increase in the share of the legal market and a reduction of space for schemes involving the unofficial importation of electronics.

The number of cases of non-issuance of fiscal receipts also decreased. In parallel, the industry demonstrates positive changes in the field of official employment.

In addition, the ESBU initiated the introduction of mandatory indication of IMEI codes of mobile phones in customs declarations during import, which could provide over 5 billion UAH in additional revenues to the state budget annually. The new regulation will allow tracking the origin of mobile phones already at the stage of crossing the border and will make the electronics market more transparent. This should complicate the activities of those who use illegal schemes for importing equipment and evade paying taxes. The corresponding order of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine has already been signed, and the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine has carried out its state registration.

The next step should be the indication of the IMEI in fiscal receipts. The ESBU, together with the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine and the State Tax Service of Ukraine, is developing a corresponding algorithm for implementing this mechanism.

Part of the effect from the shadow economy reduction was the result of strengthening control by the ESBU and the State Customs Service over the correctness of determining the customs value and classification of imported goods.

A prime example is the import of flowers, for which practically no systematic analysis was carried out previously.

In the first half of 2026, the volume of imported flowers grew by only 7.3% in natural terms. At the same time, the amount of paid customs duties increased from 389.62 million UAH to 706.06 million UAH - by 316.44 million UAH, or 81.2%.

That is, revenues to the budget grew significantly faster than the volume of imports itself. This indicates that the additional effect was obtained not because of an increase in the quantity of imported goods, but thanks to a more precise determination of their customs value.

Such a result was achieved thanks to the interaction between the ESBU and the State Customs Service and taking into account the Bureau's recommendations regarding control over the import of this group of goods. As a result, the additional fiscal effect compared to the same period last year amounted to 316.4 million UAH.

In addition, the budget will receive an additional 5 billion UAH thanks to the initiative of the ESBU, together with the Main Service Center of the MIA, to launch an analytical tool that allows detecting tax evasion during the import and sale of vehicles.

The Bureau's analysts recorded a scheme under which companies import cars into Ukraine but do not declare their subsequent sale to final owners. As a result of this, the budget misses out on proper tax revenues, and the VAT tax credit formed during import can be used in other tax evasion schemes.

The next stage of implementing this initiative will be the introduction of indicating the VIN codes of vehicles in tax invoices, which will allow automating the detection of risks during the import and sale of vehicles. Currently, the discussion on the implementation of this stage is ongoing jointly with the State Tax Service and the Main Service Center.

Simultaneous access to the databases of various state bodies enables ESBU analysts to compare information, identify, and eliminate systemic gaps that directly affect budget revenues.

One of the most telling examples is the implementation by the Ministry of Finance in the first half of 2026 of the ESBU's initiative regarding direct information exchange between the State Treasury and the State Tax Service. Thanks to this, the tax service gained the ability to monitor whether tender winners fully reflect the budget funds they received in their reporting.

The scale of the problem is confirmed by the results of the ESBU's analytical work. In 2025 alone, 4.2 billion UAH of undeclared VAT tax liabilities were identified among winners of public procurement. Taking advantage of the fact that the tax service did not have access to data on treasury transactions, 51 suppliers of goods and services for budget funds did not reflect the billions received in their tax reporting.

Thanks to the ESBU's initiative, this opportunity for dishonest businesses has now been eliminated. This example demonstrates that the Bureau's analytical work allows for the identification of large-scale risks and the transformation of the obtained data into systemic solutions.

At the same time, the potential of this direction remains significantly greater. The expansion of analytical work, the introduction of new digital tools, and the identification of a larger number of schemes directly depend on the Bureau's personnel capacity.

Currently, the actual staff size of the Bureau is 1,043 employees—about 26% of the maximum staff size of 4,000 people prescribed by law, meaning the personnel shortage stands at 74%. Employee attestation is underway at the ESBU.

The first stage, which covers the management team, is nearing completion. Twenty employees were admitted to interviews. Out of these, 14 confirmed their compliance with the criteria of professional competence and integrity, 5 failed the interview, and no decision has been made yet regarding one person.

In the second stage of attestation among employees of the acting category, 3 out of 24 people failed the test on general abilities. In the first wave, 10 out of 265 employees failed this stage, in the second – 7 out of 281. At the same time, since August 2025, 369 employees have resigned from the ESBU: 265 persons with special ranks and 104 civil servants and employees under an employment contract.

The main reasons for resignation are a lower level of remuneration than in other law enforcement agencies, the unwillingness of individual employees to work according to new standards, and disproportions in resource provision.

To overcome the personnel shortage, the ESBU conducts open competitions. Currently, 114 competitive selections for 335 positions have been announced. Applications were submitted by 1,768 candidates – an average of about 5 applicants per vacancy.

Currently, 1,233 candidates are performing practical tasks, another 268 are undergoing interviews to assess compliance with the professional competence criterion, 16 are undergoing interviews to assess compliance with the integrity criterion, and 3 have been determined as winners in competitive selections.

The development of territorial units and the formation of teams that will ensure the work of the ESBU in the regions are ongoing. In particular, the necessary conditions have been created for the launch of the operation of the new territorial department of the ESBU in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast: the regulations have been approved, and the structure and staff have been determined. In the near future, a competitive selection for the position of the head of the Territorial Office will be announced.

Further personnel strengthening of the ESBU, the completion of attestation, holding open competitions, and creating new territorial departments of the ESBU are necessary conditions for scaling up the systemic changes that have already begun and increasing the efficiency of the Bureau's work.

In parallel, we are changing the work system itself: we are developing a regulatory framework, reviewing and digitizing processes, strengthening the analytical direction, and moving from the principle of “counting proceedings” to the principle of “counting the effect for the state.”

In cooperation with business, our position is simple: the law is the same for everyone. We are working to make conducting business honestly easier and more profitable than building schemes.

«This is exactly how we are transforming the ESBU, which evaluates its work not by the process, but by the result,» - concluded Oleksandr Tsyvinskyi.

The Director of the ESBU also published 20 case studies that demonstrate the changes in the Bureau's work in practice - link.