SBI forwards to court case of treason committed by MPs, ex-prosecutor

This is according to the SBI's press service, Ukrinform reports.

"SBI employees submitted to court an indictment against current and former people's deputies, a former prosecutor, as well as the deputy chief of the main department of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and his aide. They are accused of high treason and incitement to commit high treason committed as part of a criminal organization," the report reads.

The SBI and the SBU State Security Service exposed this criminal organization in November 2023. Its members included current and former people's deputies, as well as an ex-prosecutor.

It was established that at the direction of the Russian special services, they organized measures to discredit Ukraine's image on the international stage in order to worsen its diplomatic relations with the United States and complicate Ukraine's accession to the European Union and NATO.

The SBI recalled that at the time, a current MP was suspected of treason and participation in a criminal organization, who carried out information and subversive activities for the benefit of the Russian Federation. He is currently in custody. His parliamentary colleague, who has been stripped of his mandate, was also declared a suspect for participation in the criminal organization.

"In particular, they organized various media events where they spread fakes about the Ukrainian government and its Western partners," the SBI said.

The investigation established that it was a well-planned special operation carried out by the Russian special services to discredit Ukrainian-U.S. relations and slow the integration processes of Ukraine's entry into the EU and NATO.

A former prosecutor, who publicly "substantiated" their fakes from the point of view of law, also participated in similar events.

"It was established that they acted according to the clear instructions of the Russian special services. The deputies joined the criminal organization created by the first deputy chief of the main department of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (better known as GRU), Vladimir Alekseev, and his aide, Alexei Savin. The organization had a clear hierarchical structure and a detailed division of responsibilities. The project was financed by the Russian special services, and the money was transferred to Ukraine through an aide to a former MP. According to preliminary estimates, the Russian special services spent at least $10 million on this organization. The MPs themselves had repeatedly traveled to Russia for meetings with their curators," the SBI said.

In 2022, Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) suspected the former MP of treason. According to the agency, in September 2024 he became a senator in the Russian Federation Council from the Astrakhan region.

In November 2023, he was also declared a suspect for participation in the criminal organization.

During the investigation, documents were also examined that confirm the current MP's trips to Russia — to Moscow and St. Petersburg. He probably went to a meeting with Russian "curators" in October 2019, before a scandalous press conference. According to the plan of the Russian curators, as a professional "media killer," he was supposed to place the necessary accents, first of all, for the Western audience.

A comprehensive forensic psychological and linguistic examination revealed that during the press conference the MP made statements aimed at undermining Ukraine's defense capability and harming its state and economic security.

In addition, these deputies registered draft resolutions in Ukraine's parliament on the formation of an ad hoc commission to investigate the "facts" they exposed at their press conferences.

Also, as part of criminal proceedings, the SBI is investigating the purchase by the family of a current MP of real estate in Spain, using Russian money. In particular, the issue concerns the purchase of two apartments in Barcelona for EUR 288,000 and EUR 100,000. The apartments were bought by the common-law wife of the MP and his mother. Moreover, a Ukrainian pension was the mother's only source of income during all these years.

The women had most of the funds for the purchase of apartments in Spain transferred to their bank accounts from Russia. The money was transferred by two Russian citizens who are most likely linked to the Russian special services, and one of them even worked in Russian President Vladimir Putin's administration.

The SBI clarified that the current MP and the former prosecutor are accused of treason as part of a criminal organization (Part 1 of Article 111 and Part 1 of Article 255 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), the former MP is prosecuted under Part 1 of Article 255 of the Criminal Code, and the first deputy chief of the main department of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and his assistant are charged with creating a criminal organization and inciting treason.

The articles provide for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of up to 15 years with confiscation of property.

According to Ukrinform, the suspects are MP Oleksandr Dubinskyi, former MP Andrii Derkach and former prosecutor Kostiantyn Kulyk.

In November 2023, the SBI suspected them of treason.

The law enforcement officers established that the criminal organization had been created by Alekseev as an agent network operating in the Ukrainian capital. His deputy, Savin, was in charge of managing the enemy group from Russia. They were also declared suspects as persons who created a criminal organization and engaged in incitement to treason.

On September 16, the SBI completed the investigation into the case of treason committed by members of a criminal organization that included people's deputies and an ex-prosecutor.