NABU official Magamedrasulov notified of new suspicion - SBU

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) and the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) have reported a new suspicion to one of the heads of the interregional detective departments of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), who is currently in custody on suspicion of aiding the aggressor state.

"During the pretrial investigation, investigators established that, in addition to helping his father trade with the Russian Federation, the NABU official, using his connections and official influence, committed actions aimed at illegal fraud with taxes of Ukrainian business entities," the SBU said on its Telegram channel on Tuesday.

It is noted that the SBU, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigation received the relevant information, in particular, from the suspect’s phone.

According to the materials of the case, in the spring of this year, the defendant received an offer from one of his contacts to resolve problematic issues in tax authorities for a number of Ukrainian enterprises. According to the available correspondence, the matter concerned the adoption by the bodies of the State Tax Service of Ukraine of illegal decisions to exclude about ten companies from the list of risky ones. This was supposed to allow the interested parties to carry out financial transactions for almost UAH 30 million.

"An analysis of the activities of these firms indicates that there are signs of their belonging to a 'conversion center,'" the report notes.

According to the case materials, in exchange for this “service,” the contact promised to transfer an illegal benefit in the amount of UAH 900,000 to a high-ranking NABU official.

"According to the case materials, the Bureau detective accepted this offer and tried to resolve the issue through a former high-ranking official of the State Tax Service. He also sought help on this matter from one of the law enforcement officers with whom he worked for some time in NABU. During interrogations, the aforementioned persons confirmed that the NABU employee had indeed approached them with such a request," the SBU reports.

Based on the evidence collected, the defendant was notified of a new suspicion under Part 2 of Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (abuse of influence).

The pretrial investigation continues.

The SBU notes that this criminal case concerns an individual employee of the Anti-Corruption Bureau and has no relation to the effective work of NABU as a state institution of Ukraine as a whole.

"The SBU continues to advocate constructive cooperation to strengthen institutional capacity, cleanse itself of pro-Russian influence and strengthen the independence of our state," the message says.

In July, the SBU reported that it was investigating Russia's possible influence on the work of NABU. Among the defendants, in particular, was the head of one of the bureau's interregional departments, Magamedrasulov.

Magamedrasulov was charged under Article 111-2 (aiding an aggressor state) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He is suspected of doing business in the Russian Federation (he acted as an intermediary in selling batches of his father's industrial hemp to the Republic of Dagestan). The Bureau employee's father, Russian citizen Sentyabr Magamedrasulov, was also charged and given a preventive measure in the form of detention.

On July 22, the Verkhovna Rada supported at the second reading and with 263 votes in total bill No. 12414, which limited the independence of NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO).

Western politicians have declared threats to European integration, and protests have begun in Ukraine against the restriction of the independence of NABU and SAPO.

On July 31, the Verkhovna Rada restored the independence of NABU and SAPO. On the same day, the president signed bill No. 13533 to strengthen the effectiveness of these bodies.

The heads of anti-corruption agencies asked the SBU to provide evidence to substantiate the suspicion. On August 7, SBU investigators provided the head of NABU with separate information and separate materials confirming the validity of the declared suspicions against two NABU employees.

The heads of anti-corruption agencies also admitted intentions to replace the heads of NABU and SAPO as the next stage of influencing the work of anti-corruption institutions.