The SBI has completed investigation into the high treason and fraud by a current People's Deputy

The employees of the State Bureau of Investigation have completed a pre-trial investigation into a current People's Deputy of Ukraine who committed the high treason and fraudulently appropriated funds of a private company.

The indictment has been sent to the court.

The evidence has been gathered of three criminal episodes. The first two ones are related to the high treason before and after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the russian federation. The third episode concerns the fraudulent appropriation by People's Deputy of UAH 14.5 million of a private enterprise.

The People's Deputy maintained contacts with representatives of the belarusian Embassy. Since 2020, he has visited the country several times, meeting with businessmen, politicians, and the self-proclaimed president. Using these meetings, he spread false information about the «absence of a threat of attack from territory of belarus».

The investigation established that the People's Deputy recorded programs on his own media channels and gave interviews to pro-russian bloggers and experts. In them, he spread out the russian narratives. After that, this content was distributed to propaganda media of the russian federation in order to create a public position on the territory of the aggressor country that this is the official position of the representative of the Ukrainian authorities.

He did not stop those activities even after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the russian federation.

In public speeches, he promoted the idea of the alleged «collapse of Ukrainian statehood», the loss of territory, and the inability of the authorities to achieve peace. He also argued that Ukraine would not be able to win and should negotiate with russia on any terms.

During the investigation, it was documented that the People's Deputy used his connections in belarus to arrange a deal involving the supply of mineral fertilizers. The Ukrainian company paid for the products, but the belarusian side delayed delivery.

The People's Deputy took advantage of the situation and convinced the entrepreneurs that they did not have the necessary permits to transport cargo. Although he knew for sure that all the documents were in order. To «solve the problem» he forced the entrepreneurs to sign a contract for consulting services with a company under his control for UAH 14.5 million.

He spent the money he got on three premium cars — a Porsche Macan, a BMW X5M (2021 model), and a Mercedes-Benz AMG (2022 model) — which he registered under fake names. The total customs value of the cars is over EUR 250,000.

The People's Deputy is accused of:

• the high treason (Part 1 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
• the high treason committed under martial law (Part 2 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
• fraud committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy on an especially large scale (Part 4 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The sanctions of these articles provide for up to life imprisonment with confiscation of property.

The suspect is currently being held in a pre-trial detention center.

The procedural guidance is provided by the Office of the Prosecutor General.