Ukraine’s ex-security chief Hladkovskyi detained in Spain on corruption charges
Photo: Press service of the Office of the President

Former First Deputy Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Oleh Hladkovskyi, has been detained in Spain, according to the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).

"On May 14, 2025, in the Kingdom of Spain, local law enforcement authorities detained the former First Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, who is accused in a joint SAPO and NABU investigation of causing damage to the state in the amount of UAH 17.44 million," the statement reads.

Hladkovskyi is expected to be extradited to Ukraine.

According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), in 2017, officials of the Ministry of Defense, in collusion with Hladkovskyi, orchestrated the procurement of MAZ 6317 military trucks (marketed as Bogdan 6317) under a state defense contract. The trucks were allegedly purchased at unlawfully inflated prices. The vehicles were manufactured by JSC AK Bogdan Motors, a company in which Hladkovskyi and his relatives reportedly held a stake.

On October 19, 2019, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) ordered Hladkovskyi’s arrest with the option of release on bail set at UAH 10.6 million. He was released on bail two days later, on October 21.

On July 2, 2021, the indictment was forwarded to the HACC for trial.

In November 2023, Hladkovskyi left Ukraine and did not return. He was subsequently placed on the international wanted list.

Earlier, Hladkovskyi had traveled abroad at least three times during martial law, registering as a driver of humanitarian cargo through the Shlyakh system, according to Deputy Head of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) Artem Sytnyk, who spoke in October 2022.

  • In December 2023, the High Anti-Corruption Court authorized a special pre-trial (in absentia) investigation into his son, Ihor Hladkovskyi. The younger Hladkovskyi is to be tried in absentia in a separate corruption case related to the procurement of aircraft altimeters.