The court took Andrii Derkach into custody in absentia
ALONA MAZURENKO — THURSDAY, 27 OCTOBER 2022, 22:08
The HACC [the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine] decided to detain the former member of the Verkhovna Rada [Ukraine’s Parliament], Andrii Derkach, who is believed to have been recruited by Russian intelligence.
Source: Press service of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office
Quote: "On 27 October 2022, the Examining Magistrate of the HACC decided to impose detention on a member of Ukraine’s Parliament for the III—IX convocations, who is reasonably suspected of high treason and illegal enrichment.
According to the court's decision, Derkach, who is put on the state and international wanted list, was given a preventive measure in the form of detention."
Details: Officially, the court does not name the member of parliament specifically, but the description of the offence indicates that it means Derkach.
It is noted that the judge supported the prosecutor's position in full.
Presently, Derkach is a wanted fugitive.
After his detention and transport to the location of the pre-trial investigation, the Examining Magistrate will decide whether to apply this preventive measure or replace it with a more lenient one.
Investigators found that Derkach received at least $567,000 in the period between 2019-2022 from Russian law enforcement and intelligence agencies for subversive activities against Ukraine, in particular discrediting Ukraine in the international arena, deteriorating diplomatic relations with the United States, as well as complicating Ukraine's accession to the EU and NATO. He was informed of the suspicion against him under Part 2 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 111, and Article 368-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Background:
- In August 2021, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine introduced personal economic restrictive sanctions against national deputy Andrii Derkach.
- Earlier, US sanctions were imposed against Derkach for his attempts to influence the US presidential election in 2020. According to the United States, Derkach was an active Russian agent for over a decade.
- On 24 June 2022, the SSU announced that it had exposed the agent network of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, which was supposed to help Russians in the seizure of Ukraine, which included Derkach. According to the investigation, the member of parliament supervised the creation of a number of private security companies in various oblasts in order to use these structures to quickly seize Ukraine.
- The SSU neutralised the network at the beginning of the war, detaining the former assistant to the parliamentarian Igor Kolesnikov.
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