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Who is Anastasia Kovitska? Ukraine politician’s wife caught fleeing country with $29 million cash

Anastasia Kovitska carried £22 million in cash through a refugee border crossing into the EU

In the middle of the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, the wife of a notable Ukrainian businessman and politician “carried £22 million in cash through a refugee border crossing into the EU,” according to sources. Hungarian customs spotted the cash in US dollars and euros in the lady’s bag. 

52-year-old Ex-MP Igor Kotvitsky’s wife Anastasia Kotvitska was caught with a bag full of money worth up to £22 million ($29 million). While Anastasia is now facing a criminal case, her husband Igor Kotvitksy has explained that his wife was leaving Ukraine to give birth. He denied that his wife carried such a large amount by saying, “All my money is in Ukrainian banks, I did not take anything out.” However, soon after his statement, all his social media accounts were found to be closed.

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Igor's Swiss-educated daughter Violetta, 24, also called the news ‘fake.’ Anastasia, on the other hand, did not offer a comment initially, although sources said that she was traveling with two Hungarian men and her mother. Later, she made a declaration that she had brought the sum into Hungary, an EU country. One peculiar allegation is that she did not declare that the money was with her from Ukraine but rather was found only by the Hungarian customs officers. 

There is a great deal of sensitivity in Ukraine about the wealthy elite attempting to move their fortunes overseas as the country is struggling to survive the Russian onslaught and its economic ramifications. While Anastasia’s news was the topic of heated discussion, other damning information started to resurface. Igor Kovitsky is said to oversee the Nuclear Energy Systems of Ukraine and uranium deposits in the country, which has been partially occupied by Russia, through his associates. 

While it is as yet unclear how Anastasia managed to haul such a huge amount, some people have already joined the dots to the wealth and connections of Igor, who is thought to have close business and political ties with Arsen Avakov, the former Interior Minister. There are now calls for a criminal probe of border guards at the crossing in Romania's Transcarpathian region, where it is believed that they turned a blind eye to money flowing out of the nation. 

Seyar Khushutov, a Kyiv businessman who first published the Kotvitska case, claimed that customs officers imposed a bribe tariff that allowed cash to exit the country. Depending on the amount and rank of the applicant, these illegal payments range from 3 to 7.5 percent. He said, “The situation in other western regions is no better. In small circles, the names of the customs agents and border guards who do this are generally known.”