Earlier, it became known that the High Anti-Corruption Court took into custody ex-deputy of the State Special Communications Service of Ukraine Viktor Zhora and Yurii Shchyhol. Officials are accused of seizing state funds in large amounts – it is about 62 million. However, the case is very colorful not only because of the impressive amount but also because the Ministry of Digital Transformation may be involved.
Not only Yurii Shchyhol and Viktor Zhora come under suspicion, but there are four more people involved. It was they who were accused of embezzling 62 million of state funds. The actions of six people are classified as a crime under the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
It’s not scary with money
After a preliminary review of the case of the former head of the State Special Communications Service Yurii Shchyhol, it was decided to send him to the pre-trial detention center. However, as practice has shown, the risk of being in the pre-trial detention center with money is minimal. Even during the pre-trial hearing, deputies from the “Servant of the People” party Oleksandr Fediienko and Mykhailo Kriachko wanted to take him on bail. Indeed, the restriction of freedom did not last long: a 25 million UAH bail was paid for Shchyhol, after which he was released from custody.
It is interesting to compare this amount with the wealth of the detained ex-head of the State Special Communications Service, or at least about which is known for sure. He owns 1.5 million dollars in cryptocurrency alone (that’s more than 54 billion UAH). Also, some funds are kept in accounts, and large sums of currency in cash were found at home during searches. Against this background, the bail of 25 million UAH is more than modest.
It looks as if a similar situation has every chance to repeat itself with Viktor Zhora: his release on bail was estimated even “cheaper” – only 10 million UAH.
Defamed or exposed?
But this is not the only reason that caused public indignation. The second wave arose after the ex-deputy of the Ministry of Defense Deineha stated that the was also involved in the unpleasant case. He previously headed the direction of digital transformation at the Ministry of Defense. He also accused the public sector of not providing complete information to society because they are afraid of mentioning the Ministry of Digital Transformation in similar corruption cases.
Deineha’s argument seems quite adequate: he, as an official who has seen the work of both institutions, points to the close connection of the budgets of these structures. The State Special Communications Service and the Ministry of Digital Transformation are constantly holding meetings because the latter is a monopoly in matters of international cyber aid, influences the budget for drones, etc.
“Anti-Corruption Action Center” commented that they have not yet seen anything in the NABU/SAPO materials that would indicate the involvement of the Minister of Digital Transformation Fedorov in the corruption case.
