Search of NABU employee: Prosecutor General’s Office says he surveilled "restricted access facility". VIDEO (updated)
The Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) says the search of a National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) employee was prompted by allegations that he had been surveilling the OPG’s administrative building.
The Prosecutor General’s Office stated this in comments to Ukrainska Pravda, Censor.NET reports.
NABU employee allegedly conducted surveillance
They claim that the NABU employee allegedly set up surveillance of the Prosecutor General’s Office administrative building, which is a "restricted facility."
"The State Protection Department identified who was conducting the covert surveillance. During the search, he confirmed he is a NABU employee and said he was carrying out a task from his leadership," the OPG said.
Prosecutors said they would provide a more detailed position later.
Video surveillance of the OGP building
Updated at 7:30 p.m. Later, the Prosecutor General’s Office press service released footage allegedly showing an unidentified man installing special technical devices above the entrance of a residential building across from the OPG headquarters on the morning of 3 November. At 14:53, another individual reportedly removed the equipment.
Prosecutors claim the surveillance cameras were placed in specific locations to record all entries and exits of Prosecutor General’s Office staff.
"The placement of the surveillance devices effectively enabled the total collection of information from a government building during martial law, including data on vehicles, license plates, movement patterns, and the identities of civil servants, among them those working in the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in Armed Conflict," the statement said.
NABU employee allegedly confirmed surveillance
That same day, a criminal investigation was launched under Part 2 of Article 359 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine over the possible illegal use of special technical means for information gathering by a group acting in prior conspiracy.
During urgent investigative actions, prosecutors identified one of the men, claiming he was a NABU employee who allegedly admitted during the search that he had removed the previously installed surveillance devices aimed at the Prosecutor General’s Office building.
At the same time, prosecutors said the NABU employee failed to clearly explain the legal grounds for the covert operation, merely stating that he was "following instructions from his superiors."
The OPG added that the search of the NABU employee was conducted due to martial law and the security-sensitive nature of the facility under state protection.
Background
- Earlier, NABU reported that on 4 November, at around 3 a.m., prosecutors from the Prosecutor General's Office, accompanied by special forces, conducted a search of their employee's home.
- They said that physical force was used against the NABU employee and that the search itself took place without a court order.
