They holidayed together abroad: suspects in ’Carthage’ case turned out to be old acquaintances, - ’Slidstvo.Info’. PHOTO
The individuals involved in the ‘Carthage’ case — Vitalii Rybalko (‘Boxer’), police officer Oleksandr Demianchuk (‘Consultant’) and Andrii Osipov (‘Criminal’) — turned out to be long-standing acquaintances.
This is evidenced by photographs that journalists from"Slidstvo.Info" found on Rybalko’s page on the Russian social network "VKontakte", reports Censor.NET.
What did the journalists discover?
As the journalists discovered, in 2018 Rybalko posted a joint photograph with Demianchuk on his ‘VKontakte’ page, allegedly taken whilst on holiday in Alanya, Turkey. At the time, Demianchuk was a senior detective with the Criminal Investigation Department of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Kyiv region.
Other posts by Rybalko suggest that the photograph was indeed taken in Alanya. In particular, on the same day, he posted a photo with a ship in the background – a similar one can be found in Alanya – as well as a photograph featuring the Turkish flag.
As another photograph shows, they were holidaying in the city as a group.
‘Slidstvo.Info’ also found a joint photograph of Rybalko with another suspect in the ‘Carthage’ case — Andrii Osipov. Rybalko posted the photo on his social media page in 2017.
Investigators consider Osipov to be the leader of a criminal organisation involved in fraud, drug trafficking and the production of counterfeit currency. According to the investigation, Vitalii Rybalko was directly involved in attacks on people.
Meanwhile, Oleksandr Demianchuk, deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Kyiv Regional Police, provided cover for the criminal activities, passed on information from police databases and helped those carrying out violent crimes to evade arrest.
NABU’s "Carthage" operation
- Earlier, the 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 Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) had uncovered a criminal organisation that 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 Serhii 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 ‘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.
- On 6 November, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) imposed a preventive measure on SSU General Serhii Duka, who was detained as part of NABU’s ‘Carthage’ operation. He was remanded in custody with the option to post bail of 65 million hryvnias.
