SBU Officers Are Collecting Money for a 'Carthage' Defendant: Lawyer's Statement

Employees of the Security Service of Ukraine are indeed raising funds for a bail for Major General Serhii Dukha, who is suspected of being involved in a criminal organization uncovered as part of the NABU operation Carthage. At the same time, this collection is voluntary, and no official instructions to transfer money to the officers were given. This was stated by Dukha's attorney, Yurii Sukhov, on the air of the Bustusov Plus channel, according to Glavkom.

In response to questions about media information that regional SBU units allegedly demanded contributing money for the general's bail, the defense confirmed the collection itself but described the widespread messages as manipulative.

“Globally – this is truly true, but in detail – this is a certain manipulation,” Sukhov said. According to him, in the service departments, messages with a bank account for transferring funds were circulated, but there was no requirement for a specific amount or deadlines for contributions.

According to Sukhov, the initiative originated in the SBU’s central administration. Later, employees of regional divisions began to join the collection, calling themselves and expressing a desire to support the general.

The journalist also asked the attorney about messages regarding amounts in 50 hryvnias for operatives and 150 hryvnias for managers. Sukhov stated that he does not have precise data on SBU employees’ salaries, as this information is confidential. At the same time, he suggested that for some employees, a contribution of 50 hryvnias might be acceptable, comparing their incomes to the salaries of NABU staff.

Recall that 6 November, the High Anti-Corruption Court chose a pre-trial detention measure for Serhii Dukha for 60 days with the possibility of posting bail in the amount of 65 million hryvnias. The prosecutor of SAPO asked to set bail at 100 million hryvnias.

During the court session on selecting a preventive measure for him, SBU General Serhii Dukha stated that NABU called yesterday the head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Andrii Pyshny, to organize blocking the banks from posting bail for him. Dukha reported this during the court hearing on selecting a preventive measure.

According to the investigation, Dukha, who is implicated in the case under the alias “Akim,” was involved in a criminal organization that systematically bribed high-ranking law enforcement officials to cover fraudulent call centers and other illegal businesses. As part of the Carthage operation, NABU and SAPO announced five suspicions.