SBU discloses new evidence in case of NABU official suspected of trade with Russia
22 August 16:12
The Security Service of Ukraine has presented additional materials in the criminal proceedings against one of the heads of the NABU’s interregional detective departments and his father, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The investigation found that during the full-scale war, they were engaged in organizing illegal trade with the Russian Federation.
According to the SBU, it was the sale of technical hemp grown in Zhytomyr region with subsequent export to Russia, in particular to Dagestan.
Earlier, the special service released an audio recording of a conversation with a NABU official, where he discussed the terms of the sale and even promised to prepare a commercial offer.
An expert examination confirmed that the interlocutors were talking about deliveries to Dagestan.
New details from the SBU:
- The SBU found correspondence with a representative of a Dagestan agricultural company in the suspect’s father’s phone. The latter confirmed receipt of the commercial offer and demanded quality certificates to participate in the Russian state program for reimbursement of costs for growing industrial hemp.
- According to the investigation, it was the NABU officer who managed the illegal business: he found contacts in Russia and looked for investors, while his father controlled agricultural processes on the spot.
- The official’s father even visited Russia in 2023, despite the war, and was in constant contact with the residents of Dagestan.
- Separately, his correspondence with the former MP who fled from the OPFL, Fedir Khrystenko, who, according to the SBU, has close ties with the Russian special services, was recorded. In one of the episodes, Khrystenko asked the official’s father to help establish contact with his son.
- It is also documented that the suspect’s father was in contact with representatives of the occupation administrations in the temporarily occupied territory of Donetsk region. In particular, he discussed with an official in Horlivka the re-registration of his weapons under the “legislation” of the so-called “dpr”.
Both suspects were served a notice of charges under Art. 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – “aiding the aggressor state”. They are in custody.
The SBU emphasized that the case is solely about the activities of a particular employee, and the case does not concern the overall efficiency and work of the NABU as a state institution.
The pre-trial investigation is ongoing under the supervision of the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office.
