SBU general and police officers linked to mafia network in Ukraine

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) say they have uncovered a criminal organization that included serving senior officials of the SBU, the National Police and the Prosecutor General’s Office alongside figures from the criminal underworld. The news was reported by the newspaper Ukrainska Pravda. According to the agencies, the group had at least 12 members.

Call centers, drugs and fake cigarettes

According to investigators, the security officials and criminals worked together to ensure the uninterrupted operation of call centers that defrauded Ukrainians and foreigners. The organization was also involved in drug trafficking and the illegal production of counterfeit cigarettes and currency. Its members are also suspected of assaults, kidnappings and causing bodily harm.

Who’s who in the scheme

NABU and SAP released a video that names a man with the call sign “Kryminalnyk” as the founder and leader of the organization. Another suspect, “Mexican,” is described as the founder and head of the Khimprom drug cartel.

According to the investigation, “Boxer” and “Pasha” were subordinates of “Kryminalnyk” and carried out his orders. The suspect with the call sign “Price” is named as one of the heads of the National Police’s Strategic Investigations Department, where he was responsible for protecting the call centers. Another police officer, “Consultant,” was allegedly in charge of security and coordinated certain areas of the group’s work. And “Akim” is a major general of the SBU who, the anti-corruption bodies claim, shielded the organization from checks by other officers of the agency.

Searches and threats with a firearm

On Wednesday, NABU announced the searches on Telegram. According to the bureau, one of the senior SBU officials threatened to use a firearm and refused to let detectives into the search site, after which SBU special forces arrived. According to the Ukrainian outlet, searches were carried out at the home or office of Anton Kravchuk, head of the SBU’s Main Directorate of Internal Security, and Oleksandr Kovalchuk, first deputy head of Main Directorate “D” in the SBU’s Department for the Protection of National Statehood.

SBU chief Oleksandr Poklad said the service had dismissed two senior officers and “fully supports” the investigation. He expects a transparent, objective and impartial inquiry, Reuters quoted him as saying. The Prosecutor General’s Office said it was ready to cooperate but had no information about the illegal activity NABU pointed to.

As Reuters notes, the new case could reignite the long-running conflict between the independent anti-corruption bureau and the SBU, which answers to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Tensions between the agencies have been evident since last year, when the security service detained two anti-corruption detectives. NABU later charged a former senior SBU official with illicit enrichment.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz