Ukraine's Security Service says charges against former cybersecurity chief are "revenge for detention of anti-corruption agency employees"

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has stated that it views a notice of suspicion served on SSU Brigadier General Illia Vitiuk as retaliation by Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies in response to the SSU’s detention of several National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) employees at the end of July.

Source: SSU in a statement

Quote: "We would like to point out that the SSU recently exposed one of the heads of NABU’s interregional directorates for trading with Russia (Article 111.2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), and detained another NABU employee for treason and passing information to Russia (Article 111). 

The SSU believes the notice of suspicion served on [Illia] Vitiuk by NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office [SAPO] is NABU and SAPO’s revenge for the SSU effectively countering Russian influence on state bodies and exposing several NABU employees for committing crimes."

Details: The SSU said Vitiuk was served with the notice of suspicion following the high-profile detentions of NABU officials, although the relevant criminal case was opened almost a year and a half earlier.

The SSU claims the investigation ignored:

• the opinions of multiple expert examinations refuting the claim that an apartment was bought at an undervalued price, including some examinations that were initiated by NABU itself;
• the opinion of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, which after thorough checks found no signs of illicit enrichment in Vitiuk’s family;
• the entrepreneurial activity carried out by Vitiuk’s wife and her legal, declared income, which was used to purchase the family home (confirmed by several state examinations);
• the testimony of numerous witnesses who, despite investigative pressure, refuted the version outlined by the prosecution.

The SSU also noted that Vitiuk "has made an important contribution to the defence of the country" since the earliest days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Background: 

• NABU and SAPO reported that they have served a notice of suspicion on the former head of the SSU’s Cybersecurity Department, Brigadier General Illia Vitiuk, for illicit enrichment and tax fraud.

• In early April 2024, investigative journalists from Slidstvo.Info reported that Vitiuk’s wife had purchased an apartment with a market value of over UAH 20 million (about US$483,000) in December 2023.
• Following the journalists’ investigation, SSU head Vasyl Maliuk suspended Vitiuk pending a review of the circumstances and sent him to the front line.
• The National Agency on Corruption Prevention began a lifestyle audit "to establish the compliance of Vitiuk’s lifestyle and that of his family members with their property and declared income".
• On 1 May, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree dismissing Illia Vitiuk as head of the SSU Cybersecurity Department.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!