Bihus on attack threats from "Carthage" suspects: "NABU came along and ruined everything". VIDEO
Bihus.Info founder Denys Bihus appeared in a video for the first time in more than a year since being mobilized to comment on NABU recordings in which suspects in the "Carthage" case discussed attacking him following an investigation into the U420 retail chain.
Bihus discussed this in a video on the Bihus.Info channel on November 5, Censor.NET reports.
Bihus's reaction
Bihus said this was his first video in more than a year since being mobilized and admitted he had not known how to comment on the situation. According to him, the editorial team suggested making an episode because it would be "strange if you said nothing."
"I wanted to get away with a joke about how, for the first time in my life, someone wanted to take me to the Dominican Republic, but NABU came along and ruined everything. However, I finally watched the full video last night and, you know, it really hit me. Not the episode involving me — that was very unpleasant, but entirely expected. In the sense that you're a gangster, so it's all clear. You probably expect something like that from a gangster. Although even I was surprised by the acid," he said.
According to Bihus, what struck him most was not what concerned him personally, but what he believed the recordings revealed about protection provided by law enforcement agencies:
"What you don't expect is that the top officials across all the agencies are just working for actual '90s gangsters."
He also commented sarcastically on the contents of NABU's materials, particularly the conversations about protection from senior officials.
At the end of the video, Bihus thanked viewers for following the Bihus.Info team's work and suggested that their attention had helped him:
"Thank you for watching. It's gratifying, it's protection, and, as we can see, sometimes it actually saves lives. If you weren't watching, I'd be lying somewhere on a beach in the Dominican Republic right now. Well, buried a couple of meters deep, but still."
As a reminder, in NABU's recordings, members of a drug syndicate linked to the U420 retail chain discussed an acid attack on journalist Denys Bihus, physical violence against blogger Ihor Lachenkov (Lachen), the PRO:KYIV editorial team and a veteran who organized protests against the chain.
NABU's Operation "Carthage"
- NABU earlier reported that a senior Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) official was threatening to use a weapon and obstructing a search.
- The Bureau subsequently said that NABU and SAPO had exposed a criminal organization that systematically bribed senior SSU, National Police, and prosecution officials to provide "protection" for fraudulent call centers and other illegal businesses.
- NABU said that the "Carthage" investigation had exposed a criminal organization whose members had arranged systematic bribes to senior law enforcement officials to ensure the unhindered operation of fraudulent call centers and other illegal businesses.
- It was subsequently reported that anti-corruption authorities had detained General Serhii Duka, first deputy head of the SSU's Department for the Protection of National Statehood.
- SSU chief Oleksandr Poklad dismissed two senior Service officials implicated in NABU's investigation under Operation "Carthage." He also suggested that a suspect in the case known as "Mexican" return to Ukraine and surrender to law enforcement.
- NABU and SAPO named five suspects in providing cover for illegal businesses. Those implicated include senior Security Service of Ukraine and National Police officials.
