SBU releases new evidence in case of NABU detective with apartment in Odesa and ties to Russia

The Security Service of Ukraine has published new materials confirming that during the full-scale war, one of the heads of the interregional detective departments of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, together with his father, was engaged in organizing illegal trade with Russia.

According to the SBU press service, it was the sale of industrial hemp, which was grown in Zhytomyr region and planned to be sold to Russia (Dagestan Republic).

In his declaration for 2024, the NABU official indicated that in January 2022 he acquired ownership of an unfinished apartment in Odesa with an area of 30.2 square meters.

As part of the pre-trial investigation, SBU investigators recorded correspondence between the NABU official's father and a representative of an agricultural company in Dagestan regarding the sale of industrial hemp. The relevant information was found on the suspect's phone.

In particular, in this communication, the representative of the Russian company reports that he has received a commercial offer and asks to send relevant quality certificates for the products as soon as possible. He explains that the documents are needed urgently, as the Russian state program for reimbursement of expenses for the cultivation of industrial hemp is coming to an end. He also names the name of the person who sent him the commercial offer, which matches the name of a senior NABU official.

The analysis of the content of the phones also provided evidence that it was the NABU officer who organized the illegal business, and his father mostly followed his instructions and exercised control over agricultural processes on the ground. Among other things, according to the case file, the NABU employee not only found contacts for trade with Russia, but also searched for investors for the business. Relevant telephone correspondence was found in the possession of the NABU official.

In addition, the investigation found that the law enforcement officer's father was in constant contact with Russian citizens, residents of Dagestan, and in 2023, despite Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine, he personally visited Russia.

Also, according to the materials of the proceedings, the father of the NABU official corresponded with the MP who fled from the banned OPFL party, Fedir Khrystenko, who, according to the investigation, is connected to the Russian special services and has a significant influence on the NABU. Among other things, in one of the episodes of correspondence, they agreed to meet in the EU. The fugitive MP's correspondence with the NABU official's father also proves that the NABU official had contacts with Khrystenko. In particular, Khrystenko wrote that he could not get through to his son (for the sake of secrecy, he indicated only the first letter of the name) and asked for assistance in establishing contact.

In addition, the SBU documented facts confirming that the father of the NABU official maintained contacts with representatives of the occupation administrations in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine. In particular, he discussed with a Russian occupation official in Horlivka the issue of updating the registration of his weapons under the laws of the so-called DNR.

Кирило Бойко