SSU General Duka has been remanded in custody: bail set at 65 million hryvnias
On 6 November, the High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a preventive measure on SSU General Serhiy Duka, who was detained as part of the NABU operation ‘Carthage’.
This was reported by Censor.NET.
Details
The court remanded Serhiy Duka in custody for 60 days, with the alternative of posting bail of 65 million hryvnias.
According to the investigation, Duka ensured the group’s protection from scrutiny by colleagues within the Security Service. He appears in the case under the alias "Akim". He is suspected of establishing, leading, or participating in a criminal group or organisation (Part 1 of Article 255 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
SAPO prosecutor Mykola Karas requested that the High Anti-Corruption Court remand General Duka in custody, with an alternative bail set at 100 million hryvnias.
Initially, journalists were not allowed into the hearing. According to the prosecutor, the Security Service of Ukraine had sent a letter to the High Anti-Corruption Court regarding a "possible terrorist attack" at the hearing concerning General Duka, which is why the hearing was closed to the public. However, the prosecutor was not allowed to see the letter. He therefore moved for the investigating judge to be recused. The court did not grant the motion.
Meanwhile, Duka’s lawyers filed a motion to have the prosecutor recused, but the judge also rejected this. Subsequently, General Duka’s defence team asked the court to hold a closed-door hearing. The court ruled that the prosecutor’s presentation and the examination of evidence would take place in camera, whilst the defence counsel’s presentation would be in open court.
The suspect, Serhiy Duka, regards the case as "retaliation by NABU", and described the bail of 100 million hryvnias proposed by the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) as "unavoidable" for him, stating that he would be unable to pay it.
NABU’s "Carthage" operation
- Earlier, NABU reported that a senior SSU official was threatening to use a weapon and obstructing a search.
- Subsequently, the Bureau stated that NABU and the SAP had exposed a criminal organisation that had systematically bribed senior officials of the SSU, the National Police and the Prosecutor’s Office in exchange for ‘protection’ of fraudulent call centres and other illegal businesses.
- NABU stated that, as part of the ‘Carthage’ investigation, a criminal organisation had been exposed, whose members had established a systematic practice of bribing senior officials in law enforcement agencies to allow fraudulent call centres and other illegal businesses to operate unhindered.
- It was subsequently reported that the anti-corruption authorities had detained General Serhiy Duka, the first deputy head of the SSU’s Department for the Protection of National Statehood.
- The head of the SSU, Oleksandr Poklad, dismissed two senior SSU officials implicated in the NABU investigation as part of Operation ‘Carthage’. He also urged a suspect in the case, known by the alias ‘The Mexican’, to return to Ukraine and surrender to the authorities.
- NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have announced five charges relating to the cover-up of illegal business activities; those implicated include senior officials from the SSU and the National Police.
- On 5–6 November, the main suspects in the case were remanded in custody without the right to bail.
