Former Acting Minister of Culture Karandiev: Without Special Expertise, Ministry Employees Could Not Recognize Fraudulent Requests
Former Acting Minister of Culture of Ukraine, Rostyslav Karandiev, has shared his insights regarding the recent fraudulent requests concerning the departure of Ukrainian artists abroad. He emphasized that during his tenure, he signed requests to the State Border Guard Service, unaware that some of these requests were fraudulent.
Rostyslav Karandiev, the former acting Minister of Culture of Ukraine, has expressed his thoughts on the troubling situation surrounding fraudulent requests for the departure of Ukrainian artists abroad. In his statement, he highlighted that during his leadership at the Ministry of Culture, he signed applications to the State Border Guard Service concerning the approval of artists' travel abroad, only to discover that among these requests were fraudulent ones.
"My involvement in this matter is quite simple – at one time as the head of the ministry, I signed on behalf of the Ministry of Culture letters of request to the State Border Guard Service regarding the approval of Ukrainian artists' travel abroad. It turned out that among the legitimate requests, there were also fraudulent ones," Karandiev stated in a comment to the Interfax-Ukraine agency.
He also emphasized that without specialized expertise, employees of the Ministry of Culture were unable to distinguish these fraudulent requests. "Therefore, it is good that the authorities, which possess the appropriate legal and professional resources, have joined this matter, and they managed to expose the criminals," Karandiev added.
It is worth noting that Rostyslav Karandiev held the position of First Deputy Minister of Culture from July 2020 and served as the acting Minister from July 2023 to September 2024. His comments were a response to recent events related to an investigation being conducted by the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Earlier on Tuesday, prosecutors from the Office of the Prosecutor General announced that they had suspected a Ukrainian citizen who, while abroad, organized a mechanism for the illegal transportation of conscription-age men across the state border under the guise of musicians. It is known that officials from the Ministry of Culture, including the former acting minister, are being checked for their involvement in this scheme, particularly those who approved the relevant letters facilitating border crossing.
Law enforcement officials reported that as a result of this scheme, 28 individuals left Ukraine and have not returned to date. This information has raised concerns among the public and cast doubt on the effectiveness of the Ministry of Culture in controlling the departure of artists.
According to official data, the Ministry of Culture sent 3,724 letters to the State Border Guard Service regarding the facilitation of temporary travel abroad in 2023. At the same time, the ministry stated that it does not keep track of violators of return conditions, but the then-acting Minister of Culture Rostyslav Karandiev claimed that less than 1% of cultural figures who were granted exit permits do not return from abroad.
In 2024, the Ministry of Culture made 2,744 requests to the State Border Guard Service regarding the crossing of the border by conscription-age men. This year, 579 men did not return from abroad. In October 2024, the then Minister of Culture Mykola Tochitsky stated that one in five cultural figures who travel abroad with permission from the Ministry of Culture does not return.
In 2025, the Ministry of Culture made 1,300 requests to the State Border Guard Service regarding the crossing of the border by conscription-age men, further underscoring the relevance and seriousness of the situation surrounding the departure of Ukrainian artists abroad.