A SAPO prosecutor named FC Kharkiv president Bohdan Boyko as the overseer of call centers.

A case that began with the arrest of a prosecutor from the Office of the Prosecutor General has now reached the world of Ukrainian football. During a hearing to determine a preventive measure for Serhiy Kropyva, Mykola Karas—a deputy department head at the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office—identified Bohdan Boyko, president of FC Kharkiv, as the covert overseer of a network of fraudulent call centers and a trusted associate of the prosecutor himself.

According to the prosecution, the scale of the operation extends well beyond a single region. It involves activities across all of Ukraine; Dnipro is merely one of several cities mentioned, not the only one.

Perhaps the most telling aspect of the case files is not the prosecutor’s characterization, but the content of the recordings. The prosecution alleges that Kropyva would tip off Boyko in advance about targeted searches of "unfriendly" call centers, requesting a list of addresses associated with Boyko’s own operations so they could be spared from law enforcement action. In other words, according to the investigation, law enforcement resources were not being used to dismantle the network, but rather to operate from within it—clearing the market of competitors.

In one of the recordings, Kropyva informs the person he is speaking with that he has reached an agreement with the National Police’s Department of Strategic Investigations (DSI), summarizing the outcome quite succinctly: "Everything is on hold." This detail is significant because, at the time of the conversation, the DSI was headed by Andriy Rubel—who now serves as the police chief for the Kyiv region. Accusations regarding his ties to call centers had been leveled against him long before the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) announced Operation "Carthage."

Now, let us turn to Boyko himself, as his biography warrants a story of its own.

Bohdan Volodymyrovych Boyko was born on August 26, 1998. He graduated from the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University and launched his first business venture while still in his second year of university. Publicly, he describes his areas of activity as alternative energy, agricultural trading, investments, and real estate development. In 2023, alongside Volodymyr Nosov—founder of the crypto exchange WhiteBIT—Boyko became a co-owner and the primary investor in the Kharkiv-based football club "Metalist 1925." Furthermore, in June 2026, he spearheaded a major rebranding effort, which resulted in the club officially changing its name to FC "Kharkiv."

In other words, when the prosecutor identifies him as the overseer of a network of call centers, the individual in question is someone who has just turned 28 and has already spent several years at the helm of a Ukrainian Premier League football club.

His partnership with Nosov brings its own set of complications. The crypto exchange WhiteBIT is mentioned in criminal case No. 12025000000002800, which concerns drug trafficking and the laundering of proceeds from criminal activity. Nosov himself is considered to be close to Dmytro Shentsev, a former Member of Parliament who represented the Party of Regions, the Opposition Bloc, and the OPZZh (Opposition Platform — For Life). Among the founders of the exchange in 2018 was Mykyta Shentsev, the son of Dmytro. Both subsequently relinquished their political positions: the father resigned his mandate as a People’s Deputy representing the OPZZh party in September 2022, while the son gave up his seat on the Kharkiv Regional Council—representing the same political force—in early 2023. Media outlets have frequently reported that Nosov is merely a nominal owner of WhiteBIT, while actual control lies with the Shentsev family.

A caveat is necessary here; without it, this text would amount to a verdict. Everything mentioned above consists of statements made by a prosecutor in court and materials from the investigation—not facts established by a court ruling. As of the time of publication, neither Boyko nor Nosov has been served with a notice of suspicion in this case.

However, the scheme described by the prosecution is noteworthy, regardless of how the legal proceedings conclude. According to the investigation, funds generated by defrauding ordinary people via telephone scams were funneled into the legal economy through a football club, with protection from police scrutiny provided by a prosecutor from the central apparatus. If this version of events is confirmed, it would mean that Ukrainian football has acquired a new category of owners—adding to those whose wealth has long been linked to smuggling and the illicit production of alcohol and cigarettes.

Volodymyr Boyko—father of Bohdan Boyko, the president of the "Fraud-Call-Kharkiv" FC—appears to be in the military service. It is unclear exactly how he serves, but it is a fact that he frequently solicits funds for military needs—specifically through his own "Volodymyr Boiko Charitable Foundation."

To be honest, however, such fundraising efforts appear somewhat hypocritical, especially given that they are simultaneously purchasing luxury vehicles.

The son, Bohdan Boiko:

- August 2, 2024: BMW R18 motorcycle (2020 model year)

- November 19, 2024: Mercedes-Benz G63 (2024 model year)

The father, Volodymyr Boiko:

- December 27, 2023: BMW X7 xDrive 40d (2023 model year)

- December 6, 2025: Land Rover Defender (2025 model year)