A Corrupt Official Wanted In Ukraine Was Found In Belarus
- 28.08.2026, 19:54
The Lukashenko regime found him a "comfortable position."
One of the businessmen who attended the “team-building” event at the Palace of Independence was Roman Vepritsky—a former top executive at Ukrainian Railways who is wanted on corruption charges. Since September 2022, he has been officially listed as missing in his home country. "Zerkalo" discovered that the former official is living in Belarus: he heads a factory, is linked to a pro-government foundation, and has already met with the prime minister at a recent gathering at the palace.
A Dazzling Career and Allegations of “Schemes”
“Unlike most Ukrainian politicians and businesspeople, Roman Sergeyevich has not one, but five higher education degrees,” wrote an anonymous author about Vepritsky. Apparently, he studied at several universities simultaneously—as a result, he became a certified public administrator, manager, land-use planner, railroad engineer, and Doctor of Law, all rolled into one. Starting in 2009, he held government positions in the Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions, and in 2015, he became a member of the regional council.
In 2017, Vepritsky joined the regional division of Ukrainian Railways and soon became head of the local branch. By February 2020, he had risen to the position of Director of Infrastructure at the parent company, and a couple of months later became a member of the board. The publication “StopCor” called this decision “one of the strangest in recent weeks” and described the executive as “one of the main architects of shady schemes in the railway sector.”
His rise came to an end a month later: Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau conducted searches at the executive’s home and workplace. State auditors found financial irregularities totaling approximately 100 million hryvnias (about $3.8 million at the time) in his activities. He was first suspended from his position and then fired.
Vepritsky himself called the decision biased and claimed he had acted in accordance with the law. He saw his dismissal as a reaction by influential groups to his high profile and his attempts to combat corruption schemes within the company.
It is unclear how that story ended; the Ukrainian media stopped reporting on it, and the manager himself withdrew from the public eye. However, two years later, the National Police issued a warrant for Vepritsky’s arrest.
His profile on the agency’s website states that he is wanted under the following articles:
Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Misappropriation, embezzlement, or acquisition of property through abuse of official position on a particularly large scale or by a group of persons);
Part 2 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Official forgery resulting in serious consequences).
Authorities sought to take Vepritsky into custody but were unable to locate him. As a result, he was declared missing as of September 2022—a status he still holds today.
A New Life in Belarus
None of the events listed above prevented Roman Vepritsky from finding a job in Belarus in 2024. He became the director of the “Isomat-Komplekt” factory, which manufactures fasteners. The factory itself is located in Ivatsevichi in the Brest Region, while the warehouse and office are in Minsk.
Vepritsky recently visited the Palace of Independence in Minsk for a meeting between business leaders and Prime Minister Alexander Turchin. Judging by the photo report, he managed to address the official with a question (or perhaps a proposal).
It is interesting to note that the former official brought with him to Belarus not only an interest in business and public service, but also a hobby. On Vepritsky’s Wikipedia page, someone compiled a long list of his awards and achievements—for example, the “Leaders of the 21st Century” medal, the “Patriot of Ukraine” order, and the first working replica of the Kyiv railway station.
That same list includes Ukraine’s largest collection of elephant figurines. Before he left, there were 3,700 of them; the deputy even included them in his annual financial disclosures. In Belarus, Vepritsky joined a collectors’ association, and this summer he received a special certificate for his collection. Incidentally, the collection has grown: there are now more than 4,000 figurines.