Andrii Derkach

Biography

Andrii Derkach became a People’s Deputy of the IX convocation (district #159, Hlukhiv, Putyvl, Krolevets, Yampil, and Seredyna-Buda districts of the Sumy region) as a non-partisan self-nominated candidate. He was not a member of any committee. He was a People’s Deputy for over 20 years, starting from the III convocation, and was repeatedly elected in the same district in the Sumy region—a region he, according to some politicians, effectively controlled. The MP worked on committees concerning the budget, energy, and nuclear policy, and he is known as the “grey cardinal” of energy and security issues. Andrii Derkach is the son of Leonid Derkach, the former head of the Security Service of Ukraine and a People’s Deputy of the IV convocation.

Andrii Derkach chaired, on a voluntary basis, the group of advisors to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykola Azarov. He joined the Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was the first assistant to former Prime Minister of Ukraine Valerii Pustovoitenko. He worked as a consultant to the President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, on foreign economic issues. He graduated from the Russian Higher School of the KGB (Committee for State Security of the USSR).

He appeared in the cassette scandal (“Melnychenko tapes”), which, among other things, concerned the murder of journalist Heorhii Gongadze. He was also the main initiator of the scandal named the “Derkach Tapes.” The scandal concerned negotiations between then-President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and former US Vice President Joe Biden, which allegedly took place in 2016, where the politicians spoke about the probability of dissolving the parliamentary coalition in Ukraine and receiving a billion dollars in exchange for closing the corruption case against Burisma, a company linked to Biden’s son. It also included recordings of conversations between people with voices similar to Petro Poroshenko and Vladimir Putin, who communicated in a fairly friendly tone. “European Solidarity” stated that the recording was a fake. Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said he knew nothing about the conversation and could not confirm or deny the authenticity of the recording.

Derkach was a regular guest on television channels linked to Putin’s crony, Viktor Medvedchuk. According to US information, he was an active Russian agent for over 10 years. He was a subject of anti-corruption investigations regarding tax evasion.

His career effectively ended in 2020: the US, and subsequently Ukraine and the EU, imposed sanctions for his cooperation with the Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation and attempts to interfere in elections. In 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) notified the MP of suspicion of high treason, and the court seized his property. The investigation established that he may have been a member of a criminal organization formed by the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia. The politician was also stripped of all state awards and titles. Volodymyr Zelenskyy terminated Derkach’s citizenship, and the Verkhovna Rada, on this basis, stripped him of his parliamentary mandate.

In 2024, the former MP joined the Security and Defence Committee of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation and was appointed a senator of the upper house of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation from the Astrakhan region. A year later, he received the title of Hero of Russia.

Timeline of Key Events

2026

The High Anti-Corruption Court issued a decision to cancel the seizure of cash that investigators had seized from the apartment of Derkach’s former wife, Oksana Terekhova, back in 2022 at 9A Mykhailo Hrushevsky Street. During this search, investigators discovered not only cash in the former wife’s apartment but also Derkach’s belongings, including photographs with Metropolitan Kirill. Derkach’s belongings could indicate that the 2020 divorce may have been fictitious.

Terekhova and Derkach have three daughters and two sons. One of their daughters, Tetiana, married the son of former Verkhovna Rada Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn. It is worth recalling that in 2010, Lytvyn rallied votes in parliament for extending the stay of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea.

2025

During an interrogation at the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine, a witness and former assistant to Derkach, Ihor Kolesnikov, confirmed that Derkach received funds from the Russian GRU. It was he who introduced Derkach to a Russian intelligence officer who passed him money for information attacks against Ukraine.

At the end of this year, Derkach received the title of Hero of Russia.

2024

The State Bureau of Investigation completed investigative actions regarding the high treason of members of a criminal organization to which Derkach belonged. The case was transferred to court.

The deputy joined the Security and Defence Committee of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation. Also, Russian media reported that Derkach had been appointed a senator of the upper house of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation from the Astrakhan region.

2023

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) referred the case regarding high treason and illicit enrichment of the former MP to court. Derkach, together with MP Oleksandr Dubinskyi and former prosecutor Kostiantyn Kulyk, had the task of discrediting Ukraine on the international arena, worsening its diplomatic relations with the United States, and hindering Ukraine’s integration into the EU and NATO. The investigation established that the deputy received at least 567,000 USD from the law enforcement and intelligence agencies of the Russian Federation for the subversive activities he performed against Ukraine.

The politician was stripped of all state awards and titles.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy terminated Derkach’s citizenship, and the Verkhovna Rada, on this basis, stripped him of his parliamentary mandate.

2022

After the start of the full-scale invasion, Derkach left the territory of Ukraine. Subsequently, the Security Service of Ukraine announced the exposure of an agent network of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, which aimed to facilitate the seizure of the country; the name of Derkach also appeared among the participants. He was declared internationally wanted, and by the end of the year, a US federal court indicted him on financial crimes. The charges concerned conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering, as well as money laundering in connection with the purchase and holding of real estate in violation of US sanctions.

In the same year, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office notified Derkach of suspicion of high treason and illicit enrichment. He was also declared wanted. Subsequently, the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine arrested Derkach in absentia.

2021

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence of the United States (ODNI) published a report on interference in the 2020 US elections, in which, in particular, Russia was involved. In the opinion of the intelligence community, interference in the US election was approved directly by Russian President Vladimir Putin. In particular, the intelligence community had information that Putin oversaw the actions of MP Andrii Derkach, whom the US subsequently recognized as a Russian agent. The official document stated: “We assess that Putin oversaw the activities of Andriy Derkach—a Ukrainian MP, who has played a prominent role in Russia’s election influence activities. Derkach is linked to Russian officials and the Russian intelligence services.”

In the same year, Bihus.Info stated that Derkach had consistently acted in the interests of Ihor Kolomoiskyi, a well-known Ukrainian oligarch and politician.

The then-acting Minister of Energy, Ihor Vitrenko, stated that Derkach continued to maintain his unofficial influence in “Energoatom.”

2020

MPs Derkach and Oleksandr Dubinskyi, at a joint press conference, spread unconfirmed accusations regarding international corruption related to Joe Biden and Ukrainian civic organizations, and also initiated the creation of a temporary investigative commission and sent disinformation letters to US officials.

The Office of the Prosecutor General refused to open a criminal case regarding the alleged high treason of MPs Derkach and Dubinskyi, as well as regarding the latter’s alleged non-declaration, tax evasion, and money laundering, explaining this by a supposed lack of factual data. At the same time, the Anti-Corruption Action Centre (AntAC) emphasized that it had provided specific information about the deputies’ possible crimes, but it is not an investigative body and cannot conduct expert examinations or wiretaps. However, subsequently, the court ordered Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova to open proceedings, thanks to advocacy by AntAC.

In the same year, Derkach, together with former prosecutor Kostiantyn Kulyk, published a recording of a conversation between people with voices similar to then-President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and former US Vice President Joe Biden, which allegedly took place in 2016. They also published a recording of a conversation between people with voices allegedly belonging to Petro Poroshenko and Vladimir Putin, which allegedly took place in April 2015. The “Derkach Tapes” revealed negotiations between high-ranking officials about the possibility of dissolving the parliamentary coalition in Ukraine and receiving a billion dollars in exchange for closing the corruption case against Burisma, a company linked to Biden’s son. In another part of the tapes, Poroshenko allegedly spoke with Putin in a fairly friendly tone.

The audio recordings caused a real resonance. A criminal proceeding was opened against the fifth President of Ukraine on charges of high treason. The “European Solidarity” party stated that these tapes were a fake created by the Kremlin with the goal of destroying the partnership between Ukraine and the US. Meanwhile, the United States imposed personal sanctions against Derkach, accusing him of attempting to interfere in the electoral process and calling him a Russian agent. Facebook blocked his account. At the same time, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine announced the start of its own investigation into the origin of the audio recordings. And already in 2021, the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine also applied personal economic sanctions to the politician.

He abstained from voting for the “anti-Kolomoiskyi law” (project #2571-d), which provided for a ban on returning insolvent banks that had been removed from the market to their former owners.

Based on the materials of a journalistic investigation by Bihus.Info regarding 42 hectares of protected land between the Koncha and Zaspa lakes near Kyiv that ended up in the ownership of people from the entourage of MP Derkach, the State Bureau of Investigation and the prosecutor’s office opened a criminal case under Part 2 of Art. 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. And the Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv imposed seizures on the plots with an estimated value of 930 million UAH.

2019

He was elected a People’s Deputy of the IX convocation (district #159, Hlukhiv, Putyvl, Krolevets, Yampil, and Seredyna-Buda districts of the Sumy region) as a non-partisan self-nominated candidate. He was not a member of any committee.

According to Bihus.Info, 42 hectares of protected land between the Koncha and Zaspa lakes near Kyiv, the value of which reached tens of millions of dollars, had ended up in the ownership of people from the entourage of MP Derkach since 2010. Subsequently, the MP filed a lawsuit against the Bihus.Info editorial office due to a story about the illegal acquisition of land in Koncha-Zaspa, but journalists from this outlet and lawyers won the appeal against Derkach in 2022.

In the same year, the MP filed a lawsuit with the District Administrative Court of Kyiv with a demand to provide evidence of the existence of a parliamentary coalition. No evidence was found—this gave grounds to dissolve the Verkhovna Rada and announce early elections.

2018

He signed a letter to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew with a call to postpone the granting of the Tomos to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The MP and other politicians wrote that “the majority of Ukrainian Orthodox Christians will be able to accept autocephaly only with the consent of the Russian Patriarch.”

2017

He filed a lawsuit against Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman for deliberately delaying the submission of a candidate for the Minister of Health for approval by the Verkhovna Rada. Derkach believed that the Cabinet of Ministers had made no attempt to appoint a legitimate head of the Ministry of Health, and as a result, acting Minister Ulana Suprun prepared a “medical reform” that violated the constitutional rights of Ukrainians.

2014

He was elected a People’s Deputy of the VIII convocation as a non-partisan self-nominated candidate from district #159 (Sumy region). He was elected a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Budget. After the death of Ihor Yeremeyev, he became the acting head of the “Volia Narodu” (Will of the People) parliamentary group. In 2016, he left this parliamentary group.

2012-2014

He was a People’s Deputy of Ukraine of the VII convocation from the “Party of Regions” (district #159). He was elected a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Budget. He left the eponymous faction in February 2014 after the victory of Euromaidan. He voted for Yanukovych’s “dictatorship laws.”

2011-2013

He chaired, on a voluntary basis, the group of advisors to the then-Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykola Azarov.

2009

He joined the Inter-Council Presence of the Russian Orthodox Church.

2008

The head of the Control and Revision Department, Mykola Syvulskyi, and Prime Minister Yuliia Tymoshenko accused Derkach of financial irregularities in the amount of 3.6 billion UAH.

2007-2012

He was a People’s Deputy of the VI convocation from the “Party of Regions” under number 96 on the list.

2007

The Tymoshenko government, as one of its first decisions, canceled the resolution of the previous government on the creation of the “Ukratomprom” concern. Derkach, while heading this company, was engaged in the nuclear industry and managed to unite all the country’s nuclear assets into one powerful state concern. Even earlier, similar initiatives by Derkach were criticized by President Viktor Yushchenko, who considered such actions to be the first step toward the future privatization of the industry. Subsequently, the politician prepared a lawsuit to the District Administrative Court of Kyiv to invalidate the indicated decree.

In the same year, Derkach signed a Protocol on Intentions for cooperation between the nuclear-energy industrial complexes of Russia and Ukraine with the head of the Federal Agency for Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation, Sergey Kiriyenko, although he had no legal rights to do so and it contradicted the Law of Ukraine “On International Treaties.”

2006

He became the president of the National Nuclear Energy Generating Company “Energoatom” and the General Director of the state concern “Ukratomprom.”

In the same year, he became a People’s Deputy of the V convocation, elected from the “Socialist Party of Ukraine” under number 9 on the list.

2002-2006

He was a People’s Deputy of the IV convocation from the “For United Ukraine!” bloc, elected under number 11 on the list. At that time, he became the deputy head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Fuel and Energy Complex, Nuclear Policy, and Nuclear Safety.

2002

He joined the faction of the political parties “Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Ukraine” and “Trudova Ukraina” (Labor Ukraine), and in 2005, the faction of the “Socialist Party of Ukraine.”

2001

During a press conference in Washington, former bodyguard of President Leonid Kuchma, Mykola Melnychenko, and former Prosecutor General Viktor Shyshkin accused Kuchma of illegal arms trading—the sale of “Kolchuga” to Iraq in violation of sanctions, noting that Andrii Derkach helped him in this matter. In addition, the media reported on Derkach’s ties to one of the most famous criminal authorities of those times, Semyon Mogilevich.

1998-2002

He was a People’s Deputy of the III convocation (district #159, Hlukhiv, Putyvl, Krolevets, Yampil, and Seredyna-Buda districts of the Sumy region). At the time of the election, he was non-partisan. Simultaneously, he ran from the “Trudova Ukraina” (Labor Ukraine) electoral bloc. Prior to this, he was the first assistant to former Prime Minister of Ukraine Valerii Pustovoitenko.

1996-1997

He worked as a consultant to the President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, on foreign economic issues.

1994-1996

He was the deputy head of the Control Service of the President of Ukraine.

1993

He graduated from the Russian Higher School of the KGB (Committee for State Security of the USSR) — (the modern Academy of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation). In the same year, he began working as an operative in the Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine in the Dnipropetrovsk region and as the deputy director of the “Prydniprovia” association.

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