Hunting for Lahun’s crypto: the court seized Binance wallets and Revolut, Wise, and bank accounts in the "Delta Bank" case

In the case of large-scale withdrawal of funds from Delta Bank, the investigation has reached cryptocurrency and electronic money. It concerns dozens of accounts and wallets through which, according to law enforcement, funds linked to the bank’s former owner Mykola Lahun may have passed.

Investigating judge of the Holosiivskyi District Court of Kyiv granted the motion of the prosecutor from the Office of the Prosecutor General and imposed an arrest on cryptocurrency and electronic funds. Wallets on Binance, Revolut, Wise, and Monese cards, as well as accounts at Erste Bank and Turkey’s Ziraat Bankasi, were seized.

Criminal proceeding No. 42026000000000563 was opened on May 4, 2026, under Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — legalization of property obtained through criminal means on an especially large scale.

According to the investigation, in 2012–2015 the chairman of the supervisory board and the owner of a significant stake in Delta Bank, together with members of the supervisory board, management board, and credit committee, organized a lending system that lacked normal economic rationale.

Loans, according to investigators, were issued to legal entities connected through shared addresses of their founders. Preferential terms were applied, while collateral was insufficient or fictitious.

The prosecutor’s office believes the purpose of these operations was not to generate profit for the bank, but to cover old loans and subsequently withdraw funds through non-resident banks.

Losses to the state, represented by the Deposit Guarantee Fund, are estimated by investigators at approximately UAH 22.8 billion.

According to the motion, after the funds were withdrawn, they were laundered through the purchase of land, real estate, corporate rights in Ukrainian and foreign companies, securities, and vehicles. The assets, according to investigators, were registered in the names of nominees both in Ukraine and abroad.

Among Ukrainian assets, law enforcement officials cite over 300 hectares of agricultural land and development plots in Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Chernihiv regions. The case also involves residential and commercial real estate in Kyiv and possible interests in properties in occupied Crimea.

The scheme described in the investigation materials aligns with publicly available information about Delta Bank’s former owner Mykola Lahun.

On September 20, 2025, the National Security and Defence Council imposed sanctions on him for a period of 10 years. The corresponding decree was signed by the President of Ukraine. The sanctions include asset freezes, restrictions on trade operations, and a ban on capital withdrawal. An exception was made for settlements with the Deposit Guarantee Fund and the State Mortgage Institution.

Lahun had previously been placed on the wanted list in a case involving the withdrawal of more than $76.5 million from Delta Bank. Since 2024, he has been subject to an international arrest warrant and, according to media reports, effectively lives abroad.

Delta Bank was declared insolvent in March 2015. At the same time, the Deposit Guarantee Fund filed a commercial lawsuit for UAH 22.8 billion against persons linked to the bank. The case is still under appellate review.

However, according to investigators, financial activity related to these assets did not cease after the sanctions were imposed.

According to operational data, a back office allegedly continues to operate in Kyiv, where former Delta Bank employees handle the finances of Ukrainian and foreign companies formally registered under other individuals.

According to the investigation, rental income from land plots, residential properties, and commercial real estate generates at least $200,000 in cash monthly, none of which is reflected in tax records.

The funds, according to law enforcement, are then partly converted into cryptocurrency and transferred to wallets belonging to trusted persons. Another portion is reinvested in real estate.

These financial channels have now been placed under court-ordered arrest.

Cryptocurrency wallets of eight individuals on Binance were seized. The exchange is linked in the case materials to Nest Exchange, Nest Clearing and Custody, and Nest Trading Limited. Some suspects held two or three accounts, others five or six.

Separately, a Revolut card registered to one of these individuals was blocked, along with accounts at Wise, Monese, Erste Bank, and Ziraat Bankasi, which are directly registered to the person investigators consider the organizer of the scheme.

On July 20, 2026, the investigator recognized these funds as material evidence.

Meanwhile, media outlets have repeatedly reported that after moving to Vienna and formally stepping away from Ukrainian affairs, Lahun, according to their data, continues to control a number of assets in Ukraine.

These reportedly include land plots designated for recreational development in Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, as well as real estate in occupied Crimea.

According to media reports, Lahun is assisted in managing projects in Ukraine by a back office led by Maksym Chernov. Also mentioned is the law firm Birait Advocacy, with which Denys Tarasyuk — former head of Delta’s legal department — is reportedly affiliated.

Thus, the investigation is effectively attempting to trace the entire financial chain — from Delta Bank’s lending operations and the alleged withdrawal of billions of hryvnias to real estate, cash, and cryptocurrency wallets. At the same time, all circumstances described represent the investigation’s version of events and must be proven in accordance with the law.