The Security Service of Ukraine has launched an internal review of the circumstances described in the anti-corruption investigation “Carthage,” which implicates high-ranking officers of the special service.
Journalists from the “Schemes” project (“Radio Liberty”) reported this on November 13.
The review was prompted by materials from an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office into the alleged involvement of law enforcement officers in a criminal organization’s activities.
On November 4, NABU and SAPO announced the exposure of a group whose members, according to the investigation, systematically paid bribes to high-ranking law enforcement officials to ensure the uninterrupted operation of fraudulent call centers and other illegal enterprises.
The investigation alleges that the organization was also involved in drug trafficking, counterfeiting foreign currency, and producing contraband cigarettes. Additionally, its members are accused of organizing assaults, kidnappings, and inflicting bodily harm.
One of the main figures in the case is SBU Major General Serhiy Duka, who held the post of first deputy chief of the Department for Protection of National Statehood.
According to NABU, Duka, who appears in the investigation materials under the pseudonym “Akim,” allegedly provided protection for members of the criminal organization from the attention of other special service units.
After the searches on November 4, SBU Head Oleksandr Poklad dismissed two high-ranking service officers implicated in the investigation.
On November 13, it became known that Serhiy Duka was released after a bail of UAH 65 million, set by the High Anti-Corruption Court, was posted. The general then left the pretrial detention center and publicly proclaimed his innocence. Earlier, he also claimed that the criminal prosecution was related to revenge by anti-corruption bodies.
Reviews in connection with the “Carthage” case are also underway in other law enforcement agencies. On November 10, the Prosecutor General’s Office announced an internal investigation into possible facilitation by prosecutors of illegal call center activities.
In addition, the National Police suspended one of the case’s figures, Volodymyr Tsenov, first deputy chief of the Department of Strategic Investigations, from his duties. The agency has also begun examining possible violations by other officers.
The start of the SBU internal review does not mean that the special service officers have been found guilty. The criminal investigation by NABU and SAPO is ongoing, and no results of the new review have been reported yet.
Based on materials from: “Schemes” (“Radio Liberty”), Ukrinform
