NABU and SAPO notify PGO’s prosecutor of suspicion
Detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), under the procedural guidance of a prosecutor from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), reported a notice of suspicion to the prosecutor of the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO), the SAPO reported on its Telegram channel on Thursday.
The SAPO prosecutor also notified two lawyers of suspicion, who are accused of inciting bribery.
"On the instructions of the Deputy Prosecutor General and Head of the SAPO, the prosecutor notified two lawyers of suspicion who were found guilty of inciting the provision of $3,500,000 in unlawful benefits for the closure of a criminal case, which was being investigated by NABU detectives, based on the 'Lozovy amendments,'" the SAPO said.
"As part of the pretrial investigation, it was established that lawyers and a prosecutor from the Prosecutor General's Office, having entered into a criminal conspiracy, proposed to a suspect in one of the NABU cases that he resolve the issue of closing the case by bribing officials of the SAPO and the HACC," the SAPO reported on Telegram.
According to the SAPO, “according to the developed plan, individuals acted as intermediaries in the receipt and transfer of funds.”
"Moreover, the amount of the unlawful benefit increased from $2,000,000 to $3,500,000. At the time of the crime's exposure, the prosecutor and defense attorneys received $200,000 in unlawful benefit from the suspect," the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office said.
The suspects' actions have been classified under Part 2 of Article 15, Part 4 of Article 27, and Part 4 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The pretrial investigation is ongoing. Other possible participants in the criminal scheme are being identified.