“There will be a Santa Barbara”: SBU General Duka announces more episodes of “Carthage”

SBU General and former First Deputy Head of the Department for the Protection of National Statehood Serhii Duka said that the "Carthage" case could receive a continuation in the form of new episodes because NABU officers are looking for additional evidence and materials that could be used against him. He said this while speaking with journalists after leaving the pre-trial detention center, UNN correspondent reports.

"We will soon see, I think, ‘Carthage’ 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. It will be ‘Santa Barbara,’" Duka said.

                                    Major General of the SBU Serhii Duka 

According to him, NABU officers are currently looking for additional materials that could be used against him.

"They are now quickly looking for some secret agents, classified witnesses whom they will not disclose, who will give some supposed testimony against me. They are now urgently searching through their materials from covert investigative actions for conversations in which I appear as a third or fourth party, or where I am mentioned somewhere, and they will also try to present this as my committing crimes. They are also looking for other crimes I might have committed. This is the constant tactic used by NABU and SAPO. These will be cartoon-like plots in the form of Netflix, as we have all already grown accustomed to, but we will see whether they can prove their position," the general emphasized.

We remind you

On September 4, NABU and SAPO announced the first results of the "Carthage" operation, during which, according to the investigation, a criminal organization headed by an official of the Office of the Prosecutor General was exposed. According to investigators, members of this organization "covered for" networks of fraudulent call centers and legalized property obtained through criminal means. It later became known that this concerned Serhii Kropyva, deputy head of the Department of International Cooperation of the Prosecutor General’s Office. 

On November 4, NABU and SAPO announced a new stage of the "Carthage" operation. This time, it concerned the exposure of an alleged criminal organization whose members are suspected of systematically providing undue benefits to senior law enforcement officials in exchange for the unhindered operation of fraudulent call centers and other illegal businesses.

One of the suspects in the "Carthage" operation was SBU Major General Serhii Duka. He is charged with participation in a criminal organization. The general himself denies his guilt.

On November 6, the High Anti-Corruption Court ordered Serhii Duka to be held in custody for 60 days as a preventive measure, with the alternative of posting bail in the amount of UAH 65 million. Prosecutors from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office insisted on a significantly higher amount—UAH 100 million.

During the court hearing, the major general himself stated that he was unable to pay such bail independently and denied any intention to hide from the investigation.

After the court’s decision, SBU officers began collecting funds to support the major general. On November 13, the required bail amount was collected, and Serhii Duka was released from the pre-trial detention center. The day before, SBU officers defending Ukraine’s independence on the front line also expressed their support for Serhii Duka. They recorded a video address to the general, saying that they had joined the fundraising for his bail directly from the front line.

Earlier, lawyer Yurii Sukhov published Serhii Duka’s open letter from the pre-trial detention center. In the statement, the general said that he had devoted 26 years to serving Ukraine, a significant part of which he spent organizing and conducting special operations.

In addition, Duka explained that his contacts with individuals from the criminal underworld were related to the performance of operational tasks, rather than participation in a criminal organization. The general also stated that he saw an attempt by certain representatives of anti-corruption agencies to settle personal scores in their actions. He called for his activities to be assessed on the basis of evidence, rather than sensational headlines.