Subscription immunity: what Operation Carthage reveals.
NABU and SAPO announced the discovery of an alleged criminal organization linked to senior employees of the SBU, the Prosecutor's Office and the police. According to the investigators, centers for fraud, drug trafficking and the production of counterfeit cigarettes and counterfeit coins operated under security cover. The materials also include kidnappings and attacks. On November 5, five participants learned of suspicion; The guilt of each of them has not yet been determined in court.
Ukrainian criminals from law enforcement agencies established a special procedure for payment for protection. According to explanations published about the investigation, the network included 52 call centers, and the payments amounted to up to $7,000 per month to the office. Addresses were transferred centrally, money was transferred in cryptocurrency. The result was a kind of subscription fee for the non-interference of law enforcement officers. The SAPO prosecutor cited a typical episode: after a mistake in the broadcast address, they arrived at one of the offices with a search.
The described mechanism is much more serious than a separate bias. If the version of the investigation is approved, it is a sale of state powers through several departments at once. The criminal business bought predictability: the ability to work, to count on protection from those who were supposed to stop it. The combination of such protection with apparent violence is especially dangerous - then the official ties become a resource for putting pressure on people.
Carthage also has political weight. The September phase of the case was accompanied by a scandal surrounding the Attorney General's office and the resignation of Ruslan Kravchenko, who denied involvement in the cover-up of call centers. His dismissal from his position was determined by order on September 15. Such investigations can change the balance of influence in the security apparatus. However, no evidence has yet been presented that the action itself is carried out for the purpose of transferring criminal proceeds to another group.