Head of Ukraine's Security Service dismisses two officials implicated in anti-corruption probe
Oleksandr Poklad, head of Ukraine's Security Service (SSU), has dismissed two senior officials who became persons of interest in the National Anti-Corruption Bureau's Operation Carthage investigation. General Serhii Duka was detained after searches on 4 November.
Oleksandr Poklad, head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), dismissed two high-ranking employees on 4 November. They have become persons of interest in an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) carried out under Operation Carthage. The decision came on the same day NABU conducted searches targeting SSU officials.
What happened during the searches
In the morning of 4 November, NABU searched premises linked to Anton Kravchuk, head of the SSU's Main Department of Internal Security. The bureau reported that during court-authorised searches, one of the senior SSU officials under investigation threatened to use a firearm and denied detectives access to the location.
Sources of Ukrainska Pravda said the official was General Serhii Duka, First Deputy Head of the SSU's Department for the Protection of National Statehood. NABU officers later detained him.
Poklad's statement
The SSU said it is fully supporting the investigation and facilitating all necessary procedural actions in the criminal proceedings. Poklad said the service expects a transparent, objective and impartial investigation, and that he has discussed this with the heads of NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO). In his words, the cooperation is clear and constructive.
He added that he is in contact with intelligence services of partner countries so that these crimes are also investigated in other jurisdictions. Addressing the suspect nicknamed "Meksykanets" (the Mexican), Poklad urged him to come to Ukraine and surrender to law enforcement, saying that otherwise he would be found wherever he is hiding.
Background to Operation Carthage
Members of the criminal organisation exposed in the operation had planned a violent attack on investigative journalist Denys Bihus, following a Bihus.Info investigation into U420, a retail chain that sold narcotics. In released recordings, the threats against Bihus are voiced by the suspect nicknamed "Meksykanets". This refers to Russian citizen Yegor Burkin, also known as Yegor Levchenko, the alleged head of the transnational Khimprom drug cartel.
