Employees of the Security Service of Ukraine are, on their own initiative, raising money for bail for a suspect in the NABU and SAP investigation “Carthage”, Serhii Duka, former deputy head of the Department for the Protection of National Statehood.
This was stated by Duka’s lawyer Yurii Sukhov, Radio Liberty reports.
He was commenting on information from Ukrainska Pravda that in the regions, staff of the security service are allegedly being asked for 50,000–150,000 each: operatives are to transfer 50,000 hryvnias, while sector heads and department heads and their deputies are to transfer 150,000 hryvnias each.
According to Duka’s lawyer, security service employees are making contributions only voluntarily. At first, the funds were raised by staff at headquarters; however, after the court decision was announced, colleagues from the SBU’s regional directorates also began joining the initiative.
- Operation “Carthage”, which NABU and SAP announced on 5 September, was aimed at exposing a criminal organisation operating within the Prosecutor General’s Office that provided “services” to cover up illegal call centres in exchange for bribes. They are also suspected of laundering illegally acquired assets.
- In NABU recordings, Serhii Duka appears under the pseudonym “Akim”. According to investigators, he knew about the activities of the organiser of the criminal group nicknamed “Criminal” and helped him resolve issues not only within the SBU but also in the Prosecutor General’s Office.
- Read more about Operation “Carthage” in LB.ua’s report.
- On 6 November, the High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a preventive measure on the former deputy head of the SBU Department for the Protection of National Statehood: detention until 2 January 2027, with the option of bail set at 65 million hryvnias.
- On 10 November, it became known that 44 million had already been raised towards Duka’s bail, and on 11 November the prosecutor in the case, Mykola Karas, cited a higher figure—almost 50 million hryvnias already.
- Recently, bail in the amount of 15 million hryvnias was posted for Volodymyr Tsenov, first deputy head of the National Police’s Department of Strategic Investigations, who is mentioned in new NABU recordings in the “Carthage” case.