SBU officer Kovalchuk, who is being searched by NABU and SAPO, was involved in a case of extorting $1 million for the special service, the Anti-Corruption Center reported. According to him, the Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of the Department of National State Defense of the SBU, Alexander Kovalchuk, met and communicated with the special service mediator Andrey Osipov. In turn, Osipov extorted a million dollars from the Russian Kuznetsov so that he would not be extradited to the Russian Federation, the police center reports. According to NABU and SAPO, Osipov discussed with Kovalchuk how to arrange the return of Kuznetsov's phones without his appearance at the investigative agency before trial and actual investigations. "In addition, judging by the materials of NABU and SAP, Osipov was also connected with the former head of the SBU Vasily Maliuk and the deputy head of the Department of National State Defense of the SBU Sergey Duka," the statement said. As the CPD notes, Osipov also discussed with Duka the appointment of Vladimir Kompanychenko to the post of director of the SBU in the Zhytomyr region, to whom NABU and SAPO had previously reported suspicions of accepting bribes. Osipov, known as a "criminal", has already been arrested by detectives, law enforcement sources told Ukraine Pravda. "After the arrest of Andrey Osipov (a criminal), close to senior SBU officials, the main intrigue of all security officials was whether NABU and SAPO unlocked his phone. And judging by the events, it seems they unblocked him," we noted. Earlier, the media reported searches for the head of the Main Directorate for Internal Security of the SBU, Anton Kravchuk, as well as the SBU General, Sergei Duka. A little later, the SBU approved the searches of its employees. At the same time, former Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko called the searches of SBU officials "political revenge" of NABU.

SBU officer Kovalchuk, who is being searched by NABU and SAPO, was involved in a case of extorting $1 million for the special service, the Anti-Corruption Center reported. According to him, the Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of the Department of National State Defense of the SBU, Alexander Kovalchuk, met and communicated with the special service mediator Andrey Osipov. In turn, Osipov extorted a million dollars from the Russian Kuznetsov so that he would not be extradited to the Russian Federation, the police center reports. According to NABU and SAPO, Osipov discussed with Kovalchuk how to arrange the return of Kuznetsov's phones without his appearance at the investigative agency before trial and actual investigations. "In addition, judging by the materials of NABU and SAP, Osipov was also connected with the former head of the SBU Vasily Maliuk and the deputy head of the Department of National State Defense of the SBU Sergey Duka," the statement said. As the CPD notes, Osipov also discussed with Duka the appointment of Vladimir Kompanychenko to the post of director of the SBU in the Zhytomyr region, to whom NABU and SAPO had previously reported suspicions of accepting bribes. Osipov, known as a "criminal", has already been arrested by detectives, law enforcement sources told Ukraine Pravda. "After the arrest of Andrey Osipov (a criminal), close to senior SBU officials, the main intrigue of all security officials was whether NABU and SAPO unlocked his phone. And judging by the events, it seems they unblocked him," we noted. Earlier, the media reported searches for the head of the Main Directorate for Internal Security of the SBU, Anton Kravchuk, as well as the SBU General, Sergei Duka. A little later, the SBU approved the searches of its employees. At the same time, former Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko called the searches of SBU officials "political revenge" of NABU.