Volunteer and his colleagues are suspected of corruption

Volunteer and his colleagues are suspected of corruption

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, volunteers and social activists actively assisted the army in the battle against the Russian enemy. They provided the army with necessary technical equipment, clothing, cars, etc., as reported by zmina.

To simplify the process of importing such goods from abroad, the government issued Decree 174 in March 2022, which allowed the import of goods for the military on a declarative basis and categorised them as humanitarian aid. The relevant law was passed by the people's deputies in March, which included Article 201-2 in the Criminal Code of Ukraine related to the illegal use for profit of humanitarian aid, charitable donations or gratuitous aid. Soon after, this article was used by law enforcement to target volunteers, leading to searches and other investigative actions against them.

This article outlines cases where volunteers were targeted by law enforcement officers, and explains the issues with the new legislation and its application.

How volunteers fall into the trap of “provocation to commit a crime”</h2

Throughout the spring, summer, and autumn, law enforcement agencies conducted searches on various volunteers, suspecting them of selling cars intended for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military assistance. In most instances, investigators opted to prosecute volunteers who regularly imported cars and other items to Ukraine as humanitarian aid for the military. These volunteers purchased these items abroad with their own funds or donations, and transferred them to the relevant units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or specific military groups.

“In the spring, the question was “to be or not to be” for the Ukrainian state. This required the maximum simplification of procedures at customs to facilitate provisions for the troops. However, despite the obvious benefit of simplifying the import of goods for the military under Cabinet of Ministers 174, recognizing these goods as humanitarian aid contradicts the law “On Humanitarian Aid”. The law specifies clear criteria for identifying goods as humanitarian aid, and goods for the military purchased by volunteers and donors do not meet these criteria. Therefore, Article 201-2 of the Criminal Code cannot be applied to goods obtained in this manner. Nevertheless, law enforcement officers started using the declaration of cars and other military goods as humanitarian aid, in accordance with Decree 174, as a formal reason for criminal prosecution,” explained Daniil Popkov, legal adviser of the ZMINA Human Rights Center.

However, law enforcement officers immediately began searching for individuals who were profiting from selling humanitarian aid, targeting prominent volunteers who have been engaged in charity work since 2014 and are well known for their contributions to society. They targeted individuals who had never hidden their activities. Furthermore, during their investigations and covert actions, law enforcement officers utilized the method of provoking a crime, which is prohibited by law.

A volunteer was approached by someone who claimed to be a law enforcement officer and said that military acquaintances urgently needed cars. The volunteer agreed to sell the car, but when the money was exchanged, the volunteer was detained for 'selling humanitarian aid,' which was then reported as a successful operation by law enforcement officers.

The chairman of the subcommittee on local taxes and fees of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on issues of finance, tax and customs policy, Marian Zablotsky, confirmed the existence of a scheme and a provocation for a crime against volunteers accused of selling humanitarian aid.

“I studied a lot of volunteer cases, and none of them has any basis. In my opinion, law enforcement officers behaved as disgustingly as one could imagine,” the people's deputy noted.

The method of 'provoking a crime' goes against the norms of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and the European Convention on Human Rights. Law enforcement officers are prohibited from provoking or inciting a person to commit a crime.

According to the legal adviser of the ZMINA Human Rights Center Daniil Popkov, it is not allowed to incite a person to commit a crime, especially with the involvement of law enforcement officers.

Ukrainian legislation and the practice of the ECtHR prohibit law enforcement officers from pushing a person to commit a crime. The suspect should show initiative and a desire to commit the crime, not the law enforcement officers.

According to the Code of Criminal Procedure and the European Convention on Human Rights, evidence obtained by inciting a person to commit a crime cannot be used in criminal proceedings.

However, law enforcement officers, including police and security services, often use provocation to catch volunteers in the act.

Daniil Popkov believes that law enforcement officers using emotional manipulation to take advantage of volunteers' willingness to help the military is not only illegal, but also immoral.

So, the Office of the Prosecutor General has stated that 427 criminal offenses for selling humanitarian aid were recorded from January to November this year.

Here is a description of five important cases involving volunteers who are being investigated by law enforcement for allegedly selling humanitarian aid meant for the army.

The situation of Svyatoslav Litinsky, who is a linguist and volunteer.

Svyatoslav Litinsky

Svyatoslav Litinsky is a linguist, social activist and volunteer. He is known for taking legal action against large companies for conducting business in Ukrainian. In 2020, he was a candidate to become the language ombudsman. Litinsky sued because of having a passport without duplication in Russian and Ukrainian keyboard markings.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Svyatoslav Litinsky and a team of volunteers have given over 250 vehicles to the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The volunteer shared information about buying and transferring a car to the army on social media.

Law enforcement became interested in the activities of Litinsky and other volunteers. On September 8, investigators in Kyiv searched his and another Lviv volunteer's house due to allegations of selling humanitarian aid. Both volunteers were out of the country at the time. According to Ostrovsky, they had gone to buy another car for the Ukrainian military. The search at Litinsky's home was done while his wife and two children, ages 8 and 10, were present.

According to volunteer Nazariy Ostrovsky, law enforcement searched his family's unfinished house near Lviv as well as the house he inherited. Nothing was taken during the search. Ostrovsky stated that the police initially claimed to be there due to utility debts, but then began the search. Volunteer Svyatoslav Litinsky also spoke about a similar situation in media comments. However, in his case, the investigative team told his relatives that they were delivering a summons.

“They actually entered the apartment by deception, because they said about the summons, but showed the decision of the Goloseevsky court of Kyiv on the search. A search is traumatic for both the wife and the children,” Litinsky explained in a commentary to Radio Liberty.

On September 10, National Police Chief Igor Klymenko described this criminal investigation on his Facebook page and shared a video of a conversation between alleged military personnel and individuals named Igor and Nazar, as well as a video of one person transferring money to another. Klymenko mentioned that a military member, looking for a car for his comrades, came across a charity fund advertisement. However, it turned out that 5,500 euros were required for two cars, and mentioning the cost in the transfer document for the military unit was not allowed – the sellers insisted on writing only “Free humanitarian aid.”

Volunteer Svyatoslav Litinsky was called for questioning as a witness on September 12.

According to the police, two men are using this earning scheme while hiding behind several charitable public organizations. Among them is the NGO “Nezavisimye”, led by Svyatoslav Litinsky. He is a witness in this criminal case.

As per Klymenko, one of the defendants, who provided documents from the NGO “Nezavisimye”, negotiated with donors to buy a car abroad for the military needs. When the cars reached the Ukrainian border, these individuals cleared them through other charitable foundations, stating that the cars would be donated to military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Litinsky himself explains that the police suspect the man of selling a donated car, which was funded by himself. The court ruling states that a friend of Svyatoslav Nazariy, who is involved in car delivery with him, assisted in smuggling a car for the chaplain. The chaplain, trusted and respected by the military, had found money to purchase the car. Nazariy helped to buy and import the car. The police suspect the chaplain of selling humanitarian aid, although he actually found the money for the car.

Svyatoslav Litinsky said that some people contact the volunteer group daily to ask to sell a car.

“They call and ask us to sell humanitarian aid in Lviv. This is a special provocation similar to that of other volunteers. They say that they really need a car in Lviv. My answer is always that we do not sell cars, but we can help bring them from Poland and Germany, and there we will pay and help bring and repair them, but on condition that they are handed over to the army.”

On November 30, Litinsky said in a ZMINA comment that the situation has not developed since then. He was summoned for questioning as a witness, and the invitation was given during the search. He was abroad and could not appear on the specified day. He also mentioned that, according to his information, chaplain Igor Plokhoy and Nazariy Ostrovsky were not subjected to the previously chosen precautionary measures – not to communicate, spend the night at home, and the like.

After the searches at Litinsky, human rights and volunteer organizations issued a joint statement, expressing deep concern about the pressure on volunteers.

Case of volunteer Oles Dzyndra

Case of volunteer Oles Dzyndra

The famous Lviv artist Oles Dzindra is also suspected of importing cars under the guise of humanitarian aid.

The trial of volunteers Oles Dzindra and Yuriy Muzychuk began in Lviv on August 30, 2022, in connection with the sale of humanitarian aid. This involves the transfer of several cars to a third party – an employee of the Chervonograd Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support Sergey Sharko, allegedly for a reward.

In reality, Oles Dzindra explained to ZMINA that the volunteers bought four cars from Slovenia for specific military units at the request of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army and the 80th Airborne Assault Brigade. However, Sharko approached them, claiming that the unit he supposedly cares for urgently needed cars, and convinced them to give him the cars. It was agreed that he would give money for these cars to the volunteers so that they could finally buy cars for the promised units.

On the day when the cars were supposed to be handed over to Sergei Sharko, he brought fake banknotes, and the volunteers were conspicuously detained and suspected of selling humanitarian aid brought in by a charitable foundation.

Dzindra explains that they worked with the foundation organized by his son's friends to make it easier to drive cars across the border. The cars were bought with their own money, not the fund's, or at the military's expense. The cars in question were purchased with their own money, as noted by Oles Dzindra.

Today, Oles Dzindra and Yury Muzychuk were released on personal bond by the Lviv court.

The case of volunteer Oleg Yanitsky

Case of Volunteer Oleg Yanitsky

On August 31, the KORD special police unit conducted searches at the office of Lviv volunteer and businessman Oleg Yanitsky. The police seized all the humanitarian aid that the volunteers had not sent to the military. Oleg Yanitsky reported that they were trying to tie him to a criminal case involving another person.

Yanitsky told ZMINA that the search was conducted without his presence and he was given a ruling on a criminal case against volunteer Bohdan Luschak. Yanitsky stated that Luschak often drove cars and delivered targeted parcels to families in Europe whose men fought in the military. During the search, they came to Yanitsky's address.

Irina Danilyuk, a volunteer lawyer, stated that the search at Oleg Yanitsky's enterprise had significant procedural violations.

In addition, Danilyuk believes that the arguments of law enforcement officers about the connection between Oleg Yanitsky and the suspects are questionable.

In addition, the lawyer believes that the arguments of law enforcement officers about the connection between Oleg Yanitsky and those persons who were subsequently declared suspect are questionable.

p>“We were able to prove to the court and documented that all the seized property, including military equipment, clothes, backpacks, tactical medicine, and equipment, had a clear purpose on the front line. This was confirmed by the commanders of the military units,” adds Irina Danilyuk.

The volunteer was involved in this case as a witness. According to him, no one in law enforcement agencies is interested in finding out what really happened. There is only one interest – to open a case and show the statistics to the management.

A court decision on September 14 partially satisfied the appeal of volunteer Oleg Yanitsky by removing the arrest from the turnstiles and other military equipment. Another decision in early November was to return personal belongings to the volunteer – a system unit, a computer, a phone and three notebooks. This is currently the only case where the court sided with the volunteer and returned the confiscated property and humanitarian aid.

Case of Volunteer Sergei Tsybulsky

Sergey Tsybulsky

Since the start of the full-scale war, volunteer Sergei Tsybulsky has been bringing cars from abroad, fixing them, and giving them to a fund with which he had an agreement for technical services. The cars were then sent to the front for the needs of the Ukrainian military.

However, on September 14, security forces came to his car dealership and seized seven cars and his personal belongings. The Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine suspected the volunteer of illegally profiting from the sale of cars brought into Ukraine as humanitarian aid.

In a report on September 15, the State Border Service announced, together with detectives from the Bureau of Economic Security, that they uncovered a scheme for the illegal sale of off-road vehicles in the Kyiv region. They confiscated seven cars worth UAH 1.5 million from the volunteer. Later, the Bureau of Economic Security mentioned the amount of UAH 1.6 million.

As Tsybulsky told ZMINA, security forces initially charged him with two offenses: tax evasion on an especially large scale and illegal use for profit of humanitarian aid, charitable donations or free of charge. However, the first charge was almost immediately dropped. Since October 31, he has been a suspect under the second charge.

Pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings is carried out by detectives of the Main Detective Unit of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine under the procedural leadership of prosecutors of the Office of the Prosecutor General.

Sergei Tsybulsky believes that the detectives from the Economic Security Bureau are lacking time to investigate major economic cases, so they target volunteers instead. He feels confident in his position because he sees clear inaccuracies in the case that imply it was fabricated.

There are two identical reports which state that we had and saw certain cars, which I am certain we never imported. This shows that the reports are convenient for them. There are numerous questions in the case. This is pure raiding and robbery,” explains Sergey Tsybulsky.

The case of volunteer Alexander Yakovenko and Monsters Corporation

The Case of Volunteer Alexander Yakovenko and Monsters Inc

Entrepreneur Alexander Yakovenko assisted the military from the early days of the full-scale war, including buying bulletproof vests, making anti-tank hedgehogs, and creating bags for barricades. In total, his companies donated about UAH 15–18 million for volunteering, while he personally contributed about UAH 5–7 million.

On May 23 of this year, law enforcement officers initiated criminal proceedings against the businessman, his employee Vladimir Kurnosov, and Ekaterina Nozhevnikova, founder of the Odessa charitable foundation “Monsters Corporation”, for profit.

The UP reported that local security officials in Odessa stated that Ekaterina Nozhevnikova, together with entrepreneur Alexander Yakovenko, other volunteers, and a military unit representative, was accused of forming a criminal group to receive and use humanitarian aid for their own gain.

Currently, the only suspect in this case is Vladimir Kurnosov, an employee of Yakovenko's company, who allegedly sold military equipment from the humanitarian aid. He has been under a million hryvnia bail for two months.

According to lawyer Alexander Nepomniachtchi, the purchase from Vladimir Kurnosov amounted to 10-11 thousand dollars and included military equipment such as a drone, a thermal imager, first aid kits, and body armor plates. The drone, plates, and thermal imager were reportedly bought by Kurnosov personally, and the first-aid kits were purchased by a non-charitable organization as commercial cargo.

The lawyer claimed that the provocation was orchestrated by Andrey Uskanov, a 36-year-old who has been involved in similar actions with law enforcement previously. Mobile apps tracking phone numbers reportedly show the entry of “Andryukh Obep”, a person with a history of involvement in economic crimes.

The pre-trial investigation has concluded, and the review of the case materials is ongoing.

What happens next?

After numerous searches of volunteers, Oleg Yanitsky reached out to colleagues from other regions to address mutual assistance issues, as it became evident that such cases against volunteers are widespread.

Oleg Yanitsky stated, “We contacted the committees of the Verkhovna Rada and the Temporary Investigative Commission, initiated by deputies supporting the volunteers. I have two main theories for the persecution of volunteers. First, law enforcement officers might have had concerns about the lack of control over the humanitarian aid, leading to unfounded actions against the volunteers. The second version is the involvement of moles from the FSB, aiming to discourage volunteers from helping and reduce the combat effectiveness of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

Volunteers were also asked to attend the VSC meeting, where they reportedly informed the deputies about systemic persecution of vehicles and cases involving body armor, according to Yanitsky.

“This was the first most important meeting, at which the VSK finally received clear information about what was happening. Accordingly, we have good cooperation, since both the chairman of the VSK, people's deputy from the Servant of the People Serhiy Kozyr, and its members clearly stated that they have enough information to understand that this is systemic persecution, and law enforcement officers actually create a problem for countries, persecuting volunteers,” Yanitsky says.

According to the legal adviser of the ZMINA Human Rights Center Daniil Popkov, the proceedings against volunteers should be closed for many reasons:

“First of all, because in almost all cases, cars and goods were bought at the expense of the volunteers themselves or people who these funds were donated to them, not donors. This excludes the humanitarian nature of these goods in the understanding of the law “On Humanitarian Aid”.

In addition, in almost every case, one can talk about the lack of evidence of the fact of sales and the goals of profit-making by volunteers. On the contrary, volunteers invested additionally their own funds, in addition to those accumulated through public fundraisers. Therefore, according to the lawyer, the criminal prosecution of volunteers should be immediately stopped both on the grounds of violation of the law by law enforcement officers and the groundlessness of the charges, and taking into account the immorality and social harmfulness of these actions.

It should be added that criminal cases against volunteers harm their reputation and, as a result, reduce public confidence in the volunteer movement, which, finally, is reflected in the level of provision of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the country's defense capability in general. On the other hand, due to fear of persecution, many volunteers and active citizens simply stop their activities or reduce their volumes. Consequently, the actions of law enforcement officers can be regarded not in the interests of society, but, on the contrary, to the detriment.

The ZMINA Human Rights Center transferred all these cases of volunteers to the Office of the Prosecutor General, so that they would be taken under special control and the actions of representatives law enforcement agencies.

translationSkelet.Info

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