On November 6, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) chose a restrictive measure for SBU General Serhii Duka, who is a suspect in the 'Karthage' criminal case. According to the court's decision, Duka will be held in custody with the alternative of posting a bail of 65 million hryvnias. According to Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Mykola Karas, the prosecution asked the court to set the bail at 100 million hryvnias, but the court settled on a smaller amount.
Restrictive Measure and Suspect's Position
During the session, Serhii Duka stated that he has no financial ability to post a 100 million hryvnia bail and emphasized that such a ruling would effectively deprive him of the opportunity to be released from custody during the pre-trial investigation. According to the general, he does not intend to hide from law enforcement or travel abroad and expressed readiness to testify within the framework of the criminal proceedings. The prosecution, in turn, justified the need for a strict restrictive measure by the suspect's actions during the NABU investigators' visit on November 4.
The General's Role in the 'Karthage' Case
According to the investigation, Duka helped the organizer of the 'Kriminal' group resolve issues in the SBU and the Prosecutor General's Office. In the tapes published by NABU, the suspect appears under the nickname 'Akim'. Law enforcement officers claim that he provided 'cover' for the criminal group and protected it from colleagues in the Security Service of Ukraine. Earlier, as part of Operation 'Karthage', NABU published details of the investigation, according to which top officials of the SBU, National Police, and the Prosecutor General's Office 'covered' a group that, according to the investigation, organized fraudulent call centers and engaged in drug trafficking.
Context: Detention and Dismissals in the SBU
As 'Ukrayinska Pravda' reported on November 4, law enforcement officers detained the first deputy head of the SBU department for the protection of national statehood, General Serhii Duka. Later, the head of the SBU dismissed two high-ranking Security Service employees who became figures in the 'Karthage' case.
Progress of the Court Session
According to media reports, the consideration of the restrictive measure was accompanied by procedural difficulties: the SAP prosecutor declared a challenge to the judge due to contradictions in explanations of why journalists were not admitted to the session. Karas also said that in the first minutes after the start of the session there were no journalists in the hall, and then information about a 'terrorist threat' was announced. The prosecutor voiced the prosecution's position in the HACC corridor due to problems holding the court session.
