The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) conducted searches at several SBU employees, including the head of one of the departments, Pavel Dudar, the Mirror of the Week reports. They are suspected of transferring data on the case of businessman Igor Kolomoisky *, who is in jail.
The reason for the searches was the correspondence in the phone of businessman Bogdan Yakimets, which NABU officers seized in February during a search in the premises of the business center rented by him.
The publication calls him the "contact person" between Kolomoisky * and the leadership of the SBU.The Ukrainian authorities accuse Kolomoisky* of legalizing more than 500 million UAH ($ 13.6 million) in 2013-2020 by withdrawing abroad through controlled banks, as well as seizing 9.2 billion UAH ($ 250 million) Privatbank, which he founded in 1992.
Kolomoisky* is also under sanctions and investigation in the United States in the case of fraud and money laundering. In 2021, the State Department banned him and his family from entering the country due to corruption allegations when he served as head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional administration from 2014 to 2015.
On July 21, the SBU, together with the Office of the Prosecutor General, conducted searches at NABU employees in different regions of Ukraine. The director of the NABU territorial directorate in Dnipro was suspected of treason because of possible cooperation with Russia. The searches took place without a court decision, which caused criticism of lawyers.
Shortly after that, Ukrainian deputies deprived NABU of its independent status, but a week later the Verkhovna Rada adopted a law that restored the independence of anti-corruption agencies.
*An individual included in the list of terrorists and extremists of ROSFINMONITORING