The first deputy head of the External Intelligence Service, Serhiy Semochko, has not been suspended because of the absence of legal reasons for this, his chief Yehor Bozhok has said at a meeting of the parliamentary committee on fighting corruption, according to an LB.ua correspondent.
"For now, I do not have any legal reason for suspending Serhiy Semochko," he said.
Bozhok noted that Semochko had worked for the agency for a long time and transferred from Crimea to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in Kyiv after the Russian annexation.
Committee members were indignant because the SBU was checking Semochko for high treason.
"There are two ways the situation may develop. Either reports [about ] will be verified. Or the case will be closed. Operative invetigative actions are underway," SBU first deputy chief Vitaliy Malykov confirmed.
A journalist investigation by the Bihus.info project published in early October 2018 learnt that in 2015-17, Semochko's family had no legal sources of significant income but managed to buy three mansions in one of the most expensive suburban areas, the village of Kozyn close to Kyiv, worth several million dollars.
The investigation also alleged that his family is in the database of taxpayers in Russia.
Semochko denied all the allegations. He said he and his wife are Ukrainian nationals. He admitted though that his wife's adult children from the previous marriage have Russian citizenship. They live separately.