NABU searches of SBU leadership: trail leads to extortion of a million dollars case

The searches that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine is conducting at the homes of senior SBU officers may be linked to the investigation into the case of Andriy Osypov, detained by NABU in the summer on suspicion of extorting a million dollars from Russian citizen Alexander Kuznetsov in 2022.

This was hinted at on Facebook by Ukrainska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach, who is close to NABU.

According to him, after Osypov’s detention the main intrigue for law enforcement remained the question of whether NABU and SAPO had unlocked his phone.

“According to information from sources in law enforcement, after the detention of Andriy Osypov (Kriminal), who is close to top SBU officials, the main intrigue for all law enforcement was whether NABU and SAPO had unlocked his phone. And judging by today’s events, it appears it has been unlocked,” Tkach wrote.

It was previously reported that the name of former SBU head Vasyl Maliuk also surfaced in the Osypov case. One of the suspects claimed that $200,000 was extorted from the Russian businessman so that he would not be extradited to Russia, and that the money was intended personally for the then first deputy head of the SBU. The media wrote that Osypov could be an important link through which NABU would reach systemic corruption schemes in law enforcement agencies.

In this connection, the Anti-Corruption Action Center, which is close to NABU, reports that the first deputy head of Directorate “D” of the SBU’s Department for the Protection of National Statehood, Oleksandr Kovalchuk, whose home was searched today, had already figured in the Osypov case. According to NABU and SAPO, Kovalchuk met and spoke by phone with Osypov. In particular, they discussed how to return the seized phones to Kuznetsov without his personal appearance before investigators and without full-fledged interrogations.

In one of the published recordings, Osypov asks Kovalchuk whether it is enough for Kuznetsov to formally come in for questioning in order to collect the phones.

“Well, he needs to be interrogated… (formally). Just when he is on his way, warn me,” the SBU officer replies.

In addition, according to the Anti-Corruption Action Center, Osypov was linked not only to Maliuk but also to the first deputy head of the Department for the Protection of National Statehood, Serhiy Duka. According to NABU, today during the search Duka threatened detectives with a firearm.

With Duka, Osypov discussed the appointment of Volodymyr Kompanychenko to the post of head of the SBU directorate in Zhytomyr region. NABU and SAPO notified Kompanychenko of suspicion of bribery.

Meanwhile, the National Police reported that NABU is also conducting searches of its officers. They have been suspended from duty.

NABU previously stated that it had exposed SBU, police and Prosecutor General’s Office officers who provided protection for fraudulent call centers.