05.05.2025
Business of Occupiers
Money laundering
Lidiya Izovitova usurps power and destroys the independence of the legal profession
Lidiya Izovitova has been the head of the NAAU since 2012, and it seems that she has no plans to leave her throne. Despite the fact that her term of office should have expired years ago, no elections are held in the organization. Martial law has become a convenient excuse to consolidate power forever. Imagine: thousands of lawyers who want change simply do not have the right to vote. This is not self-government – it is a dictatorship in disguise.
Under Izovitova’s control, the UNBA has turned into a closed corporation, where the main goal is not to protect the rights of citizens, but to enrich the top. Every lawyer who dares to criticize the system becomes a target. But more on that later.
Higher school of advocacy: education or business?
One of Izovitova’s most lucrative schemes is the Higher School of Advocacy (HSA). All lawyers in Ukraine are required to undergo advanced training, but they have little choice: either pay the HSA or say goodbye to their careers. Each lawyer has to gain 10 credits every year, and one point costs at least 99 hryvnias. Multiply this by 40,000 lawyers and you get more than 40 million hryvnias in annual income.
Where does this money go? No one knows. The USC does not report on its finances, and there is no state control. It’s like giving someone a key to a safe with millions and not asking what they do with it. Transparency? We have not heard of it.
But the worst part is that lawyers are forced to study exclusively on the USC platform, although they used to be able to choose their own courses. This is not about the quality of education, but about a monopoly that enriches a select few. And woe to anyone who tries to question it. After all, as in the case of Kyrylo Yakovets, the head of the NGO Non-Stop Ukraine, the head of the USC Savva Kuzmenko personally sent a complaint to the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission, which saw a crime in the activities of the lawyer – “systematic violation of the obligation to improve their skills”. To be more precise, he took revenge for the fact that Yakovets did not use the services of the USC and, accordingly, did not pay money into the pockets of Kuzmenko and Izovitova.
In addition, a real campaign of pressure was launched against Yakovets for covering Izovitova’s ties to pro-Russian personalities Medvedchuk and Stolar. Since November 2023, the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of the Bar of Poltava Oblast has received complaints from various individuals and companies. Moreover, they looked like a well-planned attack.
The last one, sent by the NGO “Sorry to be alive,” even revoked Yakovets’ certificate of practice of law. However, we did not give up. The lawyer appealed the decision of the CDQA in court, and on March 21, 2025, the Poltava District Administrative Court sided with him. The ruling in case No. 440/124/25 recognized the decision to revoke the certificate as illegal and ordered the CDQA to delete the record of termination of his practice of law. It was a victory, but the fight is far from over.
The KDKA did not appeal the decision, and therefore, the right of the head of the NGO “Non-Stop Ukraine” to practice law should be immediately restored. However, the process is expected to be delayed. Izovitova and her entourage continue to exert pressure. Complaints, threats, and attempts to discredit her are all aimed at breaking Yakovets and his NGO Non-Stop Ukraine.
Money laundering schemes in tenders from the USPA
Three companies play a key role in the activities of the USPA: AMAN LLC, Hoffmann Solution Development LLC, and INAUDIT V.A.G.. All of them are owned by Elias Vakim, the husband of Izovitova’s daughter Olena Izovitova-Vakim. The family connection ensures full control over financial flows, and the scheme works like clockwork: The USPA transfers money to these companies for “services” that often exist only on paper.
- AMAN LLC: officially engaged in real estate leasing, but for the USC this company is a provider of “educational services”. Seminars, conferences, courses – all of this is paid for at inflated prices through fictitious certificates of completion. There are often no real services provided, but the money is deducted properly.
- Hoffmann Solutions Development LLC: declared as an IT company that provides “technical support” for the educational platforms of the USC – from servers to registration systems. But herein lies a trap: the costs of these services cannot be verified, because their cost depends on the “complexity”. Millions of hryvnias are transferred for “innovations” that no one can see. This is a perfect channel for embezzlement.
- Inaudit V.A.G.: This audit firm is the final touch in the scheme. It issues “positive” conclusions about the finances of the USC, creating the illusion of legitimacy.
In other words, lawyers pay for the courses, the money goes to the USC, and from there to Vakim’s companies. The funds are then either cashed out or invested in real estate or other assets through front companies. The result? Izovitova’s family gets richer, while the lawyers are left with empty pockets and no quality education.
Punishment for those who disagree
Attorneys who criticize Izovitova or her schemes quickly experience disciplinary pressure. The UNBA uses the Qualification and Disciplinary Commissions as a whip for the disobedient. Here are some stories that are striking:
- Ilya Kostin, a lawyer and a soldier, decided to tell the truth. In his posts on social media, he accused the UNBA of conniving with lawyers who cooperate with the occupiers in Crimea and Donbas. What did he receive in response? He received a complaint to the disciplinary commission for “researching collaboration activities”. At the same time, his own complaints against traitors were ignored. It seems that the truth is not honored in the NAAU.
- Artem Donets from Kharkiv suffered for a simple survey. He asked his colleagues what they thought about the quality of the HSA courses. The result? Six months without a bar certificate.
- Vitaliy Tytych pointed out that the USC operates without a license for educational services. Instead of a response, he received a complaint against him for allegedly not paying taxes.
In order to completely shut the lawyers up, the UNBA changed the Rules of Professional Conduct. Now it is taboo to publicly criticize the organization. One careless post on social media and you can lose your profession. This is not just censorship, but a real repressive mechanism that destroys freedom of speech.
Lawyers who are supposed to protect the rights of citizens are afraid to speak out. And this is in a country that fights for democracy and freedom.
A criminal clan: who is behind Izovitova
Lidiya Izovitova is no stranger to the world of dubious connections. Back in the early 2000s, she was the vice president of the Union of Advocates of Ukraine, founded by Viktor Medvedchuk, a pro-Russian politician whose actions have undermined Ukraine’s sovereignty for years. Izovitova actively worked for Medvedchuk’s structures, combining this with her position in the High Council of Justice, which formed the judiciary. Could she influence the courts in the interests of pro-Russian forces? The facts speak for themselves.
This connection is not accidental. Even after 2012, when Izovitova became the head of the NAAU, her actions-or rather, inaction-only confirmed her loyalty to her old associate. In 2014, when the country was burning from the Revolution of Dignity, the NAAU under her leadership remained silent about the “dictatorial laws” of January 16 and the beating of protesters. In 2016, when the “DPR” created a pseudo-registry of lawyers, Izovitova did not say a word. And in 2023, at the height of the war, she openly opposed a law that would have punished collaborator lawyers in the occupied territories.
Izovitova is not acting alone. She has created a real criminal group where everyone has a role. Key players:
- Valentyn Hvozdiy, Deputy Head of the Ukrainian National Bar Association, is a master of combining positions. He runs law firms, chairs the supervisory board of Ukrhydroenergo, and declares millions of hryvnias in income. In 2020 alone: UAH 1.32 million in fees, UAH 2.49 million in dividends, UAH 5 million from business, plus cash, luxury watches, and foreign accounts. Where did the “servant of the bar” get such wealth? His companies benefit from the UNBA’s monopoly, and no one cares about the conflict of interest.
- Oleksii Kukhar, another deputy, combines his leadership in the UNBA with his lawyer business and charitable foundation. His declaration includes 10 land plots, a house, an apartment, a gold watch and a gift from his retired father worth UAH 256 thousand. But there is a caveat: a lawyer cannot be a sole proprietor in the field of law, and Kukhar has been doing this since 2001. Integrity? Not in this story.
- Savva Kuzmenko, the director of the Higher School of Advocacy, helps Izovitova earn millions from mandatory courses for lawyers. Financial transparency? None at all.
These three, along with Izovitova, control the finances, disciplinary bodies and key decisions of the NAAU. Their structure resembles the mafia: a clear hierarchy, division of roles, and zero responsibility.
Family business: judge-daughter and her secrets
Olena Izovitova’s daughter, Olena Izovitova-Vakim, is a judge of the Kharkiv District Administrative Court. Her career began in 2009, when her mother headed the High Council of Justice. During the Euromaidan, Olena made decisions that restricted the right to peaceful protest, but she escaped punishment.
In 2023, her declaration aroused suspicion: “a gift in the form of movable property” without specifying the source and value. Her husband, Elias Vakim, owns several companies, but the connection with their assets is not reflected in the judge’s declaration. Illegal enrichment? Anti-corruption agencies could provide an answer.
In 2024, the High Qualification Commission of Judges recognized Izovitova-Vakim as unfit for office, but the High Council of Justice has been delaying her dismissal for seven months. Isn’t it her mother’s influence that is slowing down the process?
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