Fabrication of criminal cases, involvement of fraudsters with Russian citizenship, and use of friendly ties with the NABU leadership are an incomplete list of illegal actions committed by the perpetrators to seize control over the State Judicial Administration and strengthen influence on the judicial system in general. This was reported by former SJA head Oleksiy Salnikov in an interview with "Sudovo-yurydychna hazeta" (Judicial and Legal Newspaper), according to UNN.
According to him, anti-corruption structures were used to achieve purely private interests, and the case against him turned out to be fabricated.
"I considered and still consider the case against me to be custom-made and falsified. I regret that NABU was used to achieve purely private interests. There are several reasons for what happened. The first is the attempts of some individuals in the judicial system to regain the power they lost. For this, it was necessary to remove me from the position of head of the SJA. The second is the desire of the so-called 'grant circles' to strengthen their influence on the judicial system in general and to take control of the distribution of finances in the SJA. For this, it was necessary to take control of the SJA and the High Council of Justice, which directly dealt with these issues," explained the former head of the SJA.
According to him, certain people from the judicial system used close friendly ties with the NABU leadership (now former). NABU organized provocateurs, including "Bureau agent" Oleksiy Honchar, with the aim of fabricating a criminal case, Salnikov said.
"When we started hearing the case in the HACC, we found out that he (Honchar - ed.) is a citizen of the Russian Federation and is on the international wanted list. Honchar obtained Ukrainian citizenship through the court using forged documents. He served a sentence for large-scale fraud in Russia. After obtaining Ukrainian citizenship, Honchar repeatedly changed his surnames. We collected evidence that he constantly calls the territory of the Russian Federation," he noted.
The lawyer is convinced that Honchar is "on the payroll" of NABU, as he is also a complainant in other criminal proceedings of the Bureau. The entire case was built on the fact that the "agent" introduced himself as a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and offered Salnikov money so that he would allegedly buy a car for him and transfer it to a military unit, the former head of the SJA said. Ultimately, he claims, the money was returned, as the car scheme looked too suspicious.
Salnikov also reported pressure from investigators and record-short deadlines for considering the case in court.
"I was persistently hinted at signing an agreement, for which they promised not to put me behind bars. But I had to publicly confess to committing serious crimes. So, without committing any criminal offense, I received 3 years of imprisonment from the HACC and the HACC Appeals Chamber in record time," said the former head of the judicial administration.
According to him, such cases have become systemic and aim to destroy the country's judicial system.
"Today, all judicial reforms are carried out at the expense of public activists who have no experience but have funds and influence. The public is used as a sword, and not always for the benefit of society. I believe that there is a de facto destruction of the judicial system and its replacement with another, but whether this system will be able to inspire people's trust is an open question," Salnikov concluded.