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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The entrepreneur’s driver may be one of those who reported being followed.
Helping former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko settle in Vienna may have been Ukrainian businessman and figure in two NABU cases Volodymyr Galanternik. It was likely his driver who gave testimony against UP journalists Mykhailo Tkach and Yaroslav Bondarenko, after which they were detained while carrying out an editorial assignment in Austria.
In UP’s investigation into the reasons for the detention of the film crew, reporters examined case materials and spoke with sources in business and anti-corruption circles. They gained access to materials of the Austrian law enforcement investigation because, due to the detention, they themselves became parties to the case.
Sources also believe that Galanternik may have been involved in last year’s attempt to subordinate independent anti-corruption bodies to Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.
“UP sources in anti-corruption bodies do not rule out that Galanternik could have been one of the behind-the-scenes organizers of the attack on NABU and SAP in July last year,” Tkach said.
The journalists examined the sequence of events that led to their detention by Austrian law enforcement. It turned out that the complaint may have been made by members of Galanternik’s staff – his driver and the assistant to the head of personnel.
Austria’s state security service cared for a Ukrainian citizen from 14 to 18 September who said he was under threat. This person claimed to have seen the leader of the “Artan” group of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Viktor Torkotuk, at the Park Hyatt Vienna hotel. Law enforcement indeed found Torkotuk at the hotel and confirmed his identity. He said he was in Vienna for tourism. Then–Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko left the country on 14 September, and the UP film crew was in Kyiv that day.
The reason for the journalists’ detention in Austria was testimony that Tkach and Bondarenko allegedly, together with two other Ukrainian citizens, were observing someone. Those citizens were detained on suspicion of espionage and are military personnel of the GUR.
The Austrian security service reported that UP cameraman Yaroslav Bondarenko, who was later detained along with Tkach, used the same car as the two GUR servicemen for surveillance. Tkach stated that his colleague did not know those servicemen and had not used a shared car with them.
The Austrian services’ report also claimed that Bondarenko and one of the GUR officers rented a car. But the photo attached to the document shows not Bondarenko but Tkach. Later Austrian law enforcement acknowledged the mistake, but this happened only on 13 October. They also acknowledged that there was no connection between Bondarenko and the GUR personnel. In their statements to law enforcement, the servicemen said they were in Austria as tourists. They had military IDs and other necessary documents with them.
As the case materials show, the intelligence officers arrived in Austria on 12 September – two days before Kravchenko’s arrival. One day they were at the address that later drew the interest of the UP film crew. Tkach suggests that this is what led to his and Bondarenko’s detention.
According to UP, both GUR representatives at some point realized they were being followed, but were ordered to continue.
Context
On 5 September NABU and SAP uncovered a criminal organization operating within the Prosecutor General’s Office that was covering up illegal call centers in exchange for bribes. The main suspect in this case, named “Carthage,” is deputy head of one of the departments Serhiy Kropyva. He is currently in custody along with other suspects.
On 14 September Kravchenko unexpectedly announced that he had signed a notice of suspicion to NABU director Semen Kryvonos. It emerged that he announced this after he had left Ukraine on a “business trip” to Paris. Instead of Paris, the ex-official ultimately ended up in Austria — a country from which extradition to Ukraine is difficult.
Only after his departure did the president suspend him, and the Verkhovna Rada supported his full dismissal. The OPG is conducting an internal investigation into the circumstances of his departure.
Shortly after leaving, Kravchenko began making accusatory statements against the anti-corruption agencies and the president.
UP journalists reported that Kravchenko is in Austria. On 9 October Austrian law enforcement detained UP representatives Mykhailo Tkach and cameraman Yaroslav Bondarenko. Their phones were confiscated and they were held for more than half a day; force was used against Bondarenko.
The Vienna prosecutor’s office stated that the arrest of Ukrainian journalist Mykhailo Tkach in Austria was not due to his profession, but because he was seen at a location that was also observed by two men suspected of espionage.
In total four Ukrainians were detained. The journalists were released, while the two other citizens — as of 13 October, at the time of publication — were not. Austrian law enforcement did not specify who exactly was detained.
On 28 October Ruslan Kravchenko, speaking publicly for the first time in a month, posted a message accusing NABU and SAP of organizing a group that allegedly intended to carry out violent actions against him. The bureau rejected these accusations and called them an attempt to secure protection for Kravchenko in his country of residence.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "УП: оселитися у Відні Руслану Кравченку міг бізнесмен і фігурант корупційних справ Галантерник". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: LB.ua.
