Case of former head of State Special Communications Service Shchyhol: indictment sent to court

The SAP prosecutor sent an indictment to the court against 5 members of an organized group, including the former head of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection, Yuriy Shchyhol. This concerns a case of embezzlement of state funds totaling over 62 million hryvnias, the SAP press service reports, according to UNN.

The SAP prosecutor, based on the materials of the NABU pre-trial investigation, sent an indictment to the court against 5 members of an organized group, including the former head of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection, his deputy, the head of a state enterprise under the jurisdiction of the State Special Communications Service, as well as other officials and the organizer, who are involved in the embezzlement of state funds totaling over 62 million hryvnias.

The SAP does not mention the name, but from the case materials, it is known that it refers to the former head of the State Special Communications Service, Yuriy Shchyhol.

The investigation established that officials of the State Special Communications Service, abusing their official position and acting as part of an organized group, embezzled budget funds on a particularly large scale – for a total amount of over 62 million hryvnias.

Thus, in 2021, informatization tools intended for creating a system of protected data registers were purchased. The winner of the procurement was a company controlled by the organizer, which supplied software to the State Enterprise "Ukrainian Special Systems," which belongs to the sphere of management of the State Special Communications Service, at an inflated cost. According to the terms of the contracts for the supply of relevant software and services in 2021–2022, the state company transferred over 285 million hryvnias. However, its real value was 223 million hryvnias. The difference, namely over 62 million hryvnias, was withdrawn by the participants of the criminal scheme to the accounts of controlled companies, including abroad, for further distribution.

The actions of the 6 accused are qualified under the signs of a crime provided for in Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. It should be noted that the materials regarding one of the suspects, who is on the wanted list, have been separated into a separate proceeding.

Recall

In 2023, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine reported suspicion to the head of the State Special Communications Service, his deputy, and others in the embezzlement of over 62 million hryvnias.

At the same time, the High Anti-Corruption Court remanded Shchyhol in custody with the possibility of posting bail of 25 million hryvnias.