Oleg Nazaruk
Oleg Vasilievich Nazaruk, former deputy head of the SBU for the Rivne region and head of the SBU's Department "K" for combating corruption, is the ringleader of the amber mafia in the region. SBU investigators charged him with bribery, but he has remained at large for two months, successfully evading responsibility with the help of the courts and the Prosecutor General's Office. Rivne regional courts have prohibited investigators from bringing charges against the corrupt official.
The "amber" mafia of the Rivne region, led by former deputy head of the regional SBU and former head of Department "K" Oleh Nazaruk, has been exposed. The courts and the Prosecutor General's Office have been blocking the investigation and covering for the corrupt official for two months now.
The "amber" mafia, established within the top leadership of Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and successfully evading criminal liability and arrests for two months, has been exposed. Censor.Net reveals details of this highly scandalous criminal case for the first time. This case will become one of Ukraine's largest corruption scandals when the perpetrators are brought to justice – but bringing them to court requires a massive public outcry. The Security Service of Ukraine has identified the leadership of a criminal group that is protecting illegal amber mining in the region and has connections and contacts in the SBU, the Prosecutor General's Office, the National Police, and the courts. But even more scandalous is the Prosecutor General's Office's attempt to block the investigation and allow the criminals to evade justice, using the judicial system of the Rivne region.
On December 23, 2015, officers from the Main Investigative Department of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and a team of operatives from Kyiv conducted a search of the house of Oleh Nazaruk, Deputy Head of the SBU for the Rivne Oblast and Head of Department "K" for Combating Corruption. Following the search, Oleh Nazaruk was served with a notice of suspicion under Articles 364 – "Abuse of Office" – and 369 – "Receiving an Unlawful Benefit" – essentially, bribery.
The search was prompted by materials from an operational investigation into Nazaruk, carried out by the SBU's internal security unit. According to rumors, which have not been officially confirmed, Nazaruk himself allegedly talks about dividing up illegal corruption profits, claiming that the amber mafia's income, which flows to him, amounts to $75 in cash per day!
The Nazaruk case is becoming as significant as the case of the "diamond" prosecutors, but so far the public knows nothing about it.
As is well known, illegal amber mining in the Rivne and Zhytomyr regions is one of the most open and demonstrative corruption schemes in the country. The budget suffers losses, while well-organized gangs of illegal miners extract and sell amber on an industrial scale. This is undoubtedly possible only thanks to corrupt connections in local law enforcement agencies, which enjoy support from the highest levels of Kyiv government.
Since 2014, journalists have named Oleg Nazaruk as the organizer of the scheme to protect the illegal amber industry: https://4vlada.com/rivne/36094
He is a career SBU officer who has long since earned a reputation for absolute corruption. His connections and high position give Nazaruk confidence in his impunity. Firstly, Nazaruk is subject to lustration – he is included in the official lustration list of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine: https://lustration.minjust.gov.ua/register. He held high-ranking positions under Yanukovych, and therefore is banned from holding any government positions for 10 years. However, his high-ranking patronage and corrupt connections allow him to continue to illegally hold positions in the intelligence agency. The SBU is not complying with the lustration law.
Secondly, Nazaruk is the son-in-law of Anatoliy Yukhimenko, former deputy head of the Rivne regional state administration during the Yanukovych era. Yukhimenko, a member of the Party of Regions, ran for the regional council on the Opposition Bloc list.
Thirdly, Nazaruk is closely associated with the first deputy head of the SBU's Main Directorate "K," Pavlo Demchyna. Demchyna is now effectively the chief fixer in Main Directorate "K," as the current head of Main Directorate "K," Trepak, was "sent on leave" after he took responsibility for the arrest of the "diamond" prosecutors—friends of Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin. Trepak wasn't fired because his superior, SBU Chairman Vasyl Hrytsak, interceded for him. However, Trepak has effectively been suspended. The prosecutors have now won in Main Directorate "K." Along with Demchyna, General Pisny, who survived Parasyuk's assassination, and Kovalenko, who protects smuggling, have also built their own corrupt verticals of influence.
Demchina has excellent relations with the prosecutor's office. He is the godfather of Deputy Prosecutor General Oleh Zalisko.
Nazaruk's group used all its levers of influence to exonerate its leader from taking a bribe.
On January 11, 2016, Rivne City Court Investigative Judge Kristina Orekhovskaya issued an unprecedented ruling: "To overturn the investigator's decision to issue a notice of suspicion to Oleg Vasilievich Nazaruk under Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. To order the investigator or procedural prosecutor to take action to remove from the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations (USRR) the records of criminal proceedings No.... regarding the issuance of a notice of suspicion on December 17, 2015, against Oleg Vasilievich Nazaruk. The investigative judge's decision is final and not subject to appeal."
Phenomenal. The judge forbids bringing charges against a bribe-taker! Bans the investigator from performing his official duties! And orders all traces of procedural decisions to be concealed from the unified register of court decisions! What a "roof" – "in the name of Ukraine!" The judicial system has once again demonstrated its complete immorality and lawlessness. How much of the "amber" cash distribution scheme went to the Rivne judges and Kristina personally? Apparently, quite a bit. The Rivne Regional Prosecutor's Office appealed the judge's illegal decision to the Rivne Regional Court of Appeal. However, on January 25, a panel of judges of the Court of Appeal, consisting of S.V. Gladkyy, V.I. Ostapchuk, and M.D. Shpinta, upheld Orekhovskaya's illegal decision! A legal impasse.
Here is a link to the text of the decision in the case: https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/55139205
As you can see, Nazaruk's name was indeed removed from the registry (a print screen remains), but the text of Orekhovskaya's decision is still there in all its glory.
Here is the text of the appeal: https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/55199837
The amber mafia undoubtedly includes all judges who made unlawful decisions. They, too, must be held accountable. They are unworthy of the right to wear the judicial robes.
A high-profile corruption scandal has come to the attention of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. And NABU has requested the case for its own investigation. According to the law, NABU can take over any corruption case for investigation if it involves officials of the first or second categories, and the Nazaruk case falls within their jurisdiction. But…
Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin requested Nazaruk's case for his personal review. And now, for a month, he has failed to comply with NABU's legal demand to transfer the case. Although transferring the case isn't his choice; it's the Prosecutor General's Office's responsibility. Clearly, the "prosecutors" haven't read the NABU law and are in no hurry to bring the criminal to justice. And the sense of impunity has driven them completely mad.
And the amber mafioso Nazaruk hasn't been fired from the SBU – he's been placed "at the disposal of the SBU," continues to be on the payroll, receives a salary, receives a pension, and is entitled to benefits.
Those who are supposed to be in office can't remove him from public service and bring him to justice. Perhaps the people, as always, will be able to impart the necessary speed and direction to a corrupt official?
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