The media published the protocol of interrogation of a witness in the criminal case of anti-corruption activist Vitaliy Shabunin regarding his evasion from military service and forgery of documents. This testimony confirms the facts of violations by Shabunin, writes Law and Business, reports UNN.
In particular, the SBI questioned journalist Volodymyr Boyko. He serves in the same TRO brigade as Shabunin and the founder of the charity foundation, Dmytro Sherembey.
“In order to fictitiously enlist Shabunin V.V., changes were made retroactively to the order of the commander of the military unit A7376 (on the military unit) of 25.02.2022. At the same time, Shabunin did not take the military oath,” the protocol says.
According to the military, in 2022-2023, Shabunin and Sherembey served fictitiously, receiving a salary and a monthly bonus of 30 thousand UAH for performing combat missions. However, they transferred part of the money to the commander of the unit for evading service and living at home. Thus, in 2022 alone, Shabunin received a cash allowance “for the performance of tasks” in the amount of UAH 584 thousand.
Shabunin and Sherembey are connected by the NGO Anti-Corruption Action Center, which they founded in 2012. According to Boyko, at first they organized paid rallies for pharmaceutical companies and provided services for cashing in money. Later, the Prosecutor General's Office opened a case on the theft of $2.5 million in funds allocated by the US government for the certification of prosecutors using the AntAC's accounts.
In general, the interrogation report contains a number of evidences that indicate Shabunin's absence from military service. For example, in the summer of 2022, he appeared in Zaporizhzhia, and later took advantage of his friendly relations with the NACP leadership, which signed letters about his fake business trips.
Thus, the anti-corruption activist permanently resided in Kyiv, where he was often spotted in restaurants. At the same time, despite his alleged service in 2022, he declared income from business activities in the amount of more than UAH 1.5 million, and in 2023 - more than UAH 2.2 million.
At the same time, the interrogation report describes the details of how Shabunin appropriated a 2005 Nissan Pathfinder car imported from abroad as humanitarian aid for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Also, according to the witness, the anti-corruption activist used his fictitious service in the army to suspend the consideration of an old criminal case about his beating of a journalist in 2017.
Earlier, the TRO Force Command appealed to the SBI with a request to prosecute the commander of the military unit where Shabunin “served” for providing him with illegal business trips and payments.
The SBI is investigating a number of criminal cases against Shabunin, including mobilization evasion, forgery of NAPC documents, illegal use of humanitarian aid, and misappropriation of a Nissan Pathfinder jeep that volunteers had donated to the Armed Forces.
According to media reports, many other journalists and anti-corruption activists are evading military service. Among them are Orest Rudyi, husband of AntAC co-founder Daria Kaleniuk, journalists Yuriy Nikolov and Yuriy Butusov, head of the DEJURE Foundation Mykhailo Zhernakov, editor-in-chief of the Chesno movement Oleksandr Salizhenko, and editor-in-chief of NV Vitaliy Sych.