Acting SBI director: SBU, NABU officers being interrogated in connection with detention of Chaus in Ukraine

KYIV. Sept 17 (Interfax-Ukraine) – As part of the investigation into the case of a possible abuse of authority by employees of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) during the arrest of ex-judge Mykola Chaus, officers of the SBU and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) are being interrogated, acting Director of the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) Oleksiy Sukhachov said.

"At present, the plan of investigative actions is being carried out [as part of the investigation into the case of possible abuse of power], and so far I cannot comment on the results of the investigation. I will only say that the SBU and NABU officers are now being questioned, the materials on the basis of which the arrest was carried out are being studied and citizen Chaus was kept in the offices of the SBU," Sukhachov said in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency.

"The investigator has not yet provided a final assessment of the materials received," added acting director of the SBI.

As reported, Chaus was caught red-handed when receiving a bribe of $150,000 on August 9, 2016. According to the local press, he promised to make "the right decision" in the drug case. The judge buried the money received in his garden in liter jars. They could not immediately arrest Chaus – there was no permission from the Verkhovna Rada. While they were getting permission, the judge fled the country. Chaus left for Chisinau on a private plane, instructing the airport services not to inspect the plane and entered Moldova illegally, and at the end of 2016 surrendered to the police. The media wrote that he managed to avoid arrest and extradition thanks to the patronage of the then President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and the Moldovan oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc.

In Moldova, Chaus applied for political asylum. The president rejected his request, after which Chaus’ lawyers tried to challenge the decision in courts. The proceedings lasted more than two years. In mid-March 2021, the Collegium of Civil, Commercial and Administrative Disputes of the Supreme Court of Justice refused to grant Chaus political asylum in Moldova, the decision was final and not subject to appeal.

After that, on April 3, Chaus was abducted by unknown persons in the center of Chisinau. His whereabouts were unknown, but he several times recorded video messages to his wife on the Internet, in which he stated that no one had kidnapped him and that he was safe.

On July 30, it became known that Chaus was found in the village of Mazurivka in Vinnytsia region. Upon arrival, the National Police officers tried to detain Chaus, but the SBU officers "recaptured" the ex-judge from the police and took him away in an unknown direction. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) identified the cars with which the SBU workers were transporting Chaus and tried to stop them, but the special service ignored the NABU’s request. Chaus was taken to the Central Directorate of the SBU at Volodymyrska Street in Kyiv.

Later, the SBU press center reported that Chaus himself had appealed to the SBU officers with a statement about the abduction and imprisonment. The ex-judge’s lawyer said that Chaus was not detained by the Security Service of Ukraine, but was under the protection of the department.

On August 6, NABU completed its investigation into the case on charges of bribery against Chaus. At the same time, according to director of NABU Artem Sytnyk, criminal proceedings on the involvement of special services in the disappearance of the ex-judge are still under investigation.

In addition, the Main Investigation Department of the SBU carries out a pretrial investigation in criminal proceedings into the abduction of the former judge during his stay abroad, as well as his illegal transport across the state border of Ukraine (Part 2 of Article 146, Part 2 of Article 322 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, on July 30, 2021, the former judge was recognized as a victim and interrogated in the specified criminal proceedings.

The Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) upheld the decision to choose a measure of restraint for ex-judge Mykola Chaus in the form of round-the-clock house arrest.