SBU officials who organized a scheme to extort hundreds of thousands of dollars from businesses have been notified of suspicion. The defendants face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. This was announced by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, as reported by UNN.
Under the procedural guidance of prosecutors from the Prosecutor General's Office, the deputy head of the SBU Main Directorate in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast, the deputy head of the SBU Directorate in Rivne Oblast, and a civilian intermediary have been notified of suspicion. All three men are charged with receiving an unlawful benefit on a particularly large scale (Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The civilian intermediary is additionally charged with complicity in receiving an unlawful benefit (Part 5 of Article 27 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine)
Details
According to Kravchenko, SBU officials organized a mechanism of pressure on businesses. They received unlawful benefits from enterprises for resolving their "problematic issues."
An SBU official from the Main Directorate in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast used criminal proceedings as a source of illegal enrichment. For mediation, he involved a civilian who communicated with businesses and coordinated the transfer of cash
It was established that during meetings in Rivne Oblast, for the so-called "tariff for peaceful work," entrepreneurs were told the amount of 600 thousand US dollars. In exchange, they were promised to close the criminal proceedings, change the qualification of the case, and not interfere further in the business's activities, Kravchenko added.
The receipt of unlawful benefits, according to the Prosecutor General, occurred in stages:
– On March 6, the first tranche of $50,000 was transferred in Kyiv as confirmation of serious intentions. After this, businessmen were provided with a "roadmap" for resolving their problems in the criminal proceedings;
– On March 16, the second tranche of $250,000 was transferred in a restaurant in Kyiv Oblast.
Separately, the deputy head of the SBU Directorate in Rivne Oblast was exposed, who, through the same intermediary, received over $22,000 from an entrepreneur for ensuring unhindered amber mining. In total, law enforcement officers documented the receipt of over $322,000.
The Prosecutor General emphasized that the "tariff" for impunity in this story did not work. All three participants have been detained, and the money has been seized.
The defendants face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. The operational support in the case was provided by the Main Directorate of Internal Security of the SBU. The investigation is ongoing. We are establishing the full circle of involved persons. We continue to work