"Former Head of State Special Communications Detained: Corruption Scandal Unfolds"
"The 7th year" or the fight against corruption: reactions to the arrest of the former head of the State Special Service Shchygol
The higher anti-corruption court arrested the former head of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection Yury Shchygol for two months, despite the fact that deputies from the "Servant of the People" faction wanted to take him on bail. On November 20, NABU and SAP announced that they had uncovered a criminal scheme in which the leadership of the State Intelligence Service allegedly participated. Shchygol is suspected of embezzling state funds worth more than 62 million hryvnias. On the same day, the Cabinet of Ministers fired Shchygol i and his deputy for digital development, Viktor Zhora. Radio Svoboda asked for a comment to the State Intelligence Service, but they replied that the comments will provide "from Monday".
President Zelenskyy removed Yury Shchygol from the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and replaced him with Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov.
Radio Svoboda on the air of the program Svoboda Live questioned those who have opposite opinions about this situation.
Oleksandr Fedienko, People's Deputy of Ukraine ("Servant of the People"), member of the Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Security in Cyberspace, Government Communications, and Cryptographic Information Protection. He, together with deputy Mykhailo Kryachko, came to the court and asked to be allowed to take Yuriy Shchygol on bail.
- You came to bail out Yuriy Shchygol. Why? Some even called your act and that of your colleague "disgraceful". Explain your motivation.
- I have known the team for a long time - (Yuriya - ed.) Shchygolya, (Viktor - ed.) Zhoru, at least these two people. And I am sure: what they are accused of, they did not personally commit.
As a master of law, as a person who has a professional understanding and a bunch of certificates in cyber hygiene, cyber security, who at one time wrote methodological recommendations for law enforcement agencies on collecting digital evidence, proving guilt on the basis of digital evidence, I was interested in how this happens.
What I saw was how the process takes place: when the prosecutor read the indictment to choose a preventive measure, and the lawyer, on the contrary, told me that there were no grounds... I was sad.
They simply took some incomprehensible correspondence, and on the basis of purely correspondence, without any expertise, without any available evidence, violating all procedural processes (there is no accusation as such from the point of view of the court decision yet), the mechanism of taking Shchygol into custody was applied.
I'm not ashamed, I say it right away. I wrote about it.
Yes, there are those for whom I am ashamed - for many colleagues. I don't hide it either, I'm quite a frank and public deputy.
But in this matter I can say that I knew all the predecessors of Goldfinch, there were four or five of them. Even then I was not a people's deputy, and all this time in our country there were constant cyber incidents, leaks of information from state information resources, but with the arrival of a truly professional team...
- I heard you. Then explain to me, please, if you are sure of the honesty and innocence of Mr. Goldfinch, where did this accusation and suspicion come from? Made up your mind? Persecution? Well, what is your opinion then? Because the accusations are actually very serious.
- Look, I can say that if you take any phone of any official from the public sector now, and if you apply the method that I saw yesterday - 100%, 1000% any official can be in VAKS , brought to criminal responsibility.
- What do you mean? What can be in the phone of any official, so that it shines after that for up to 12 years? And that's how much the Goldfinch shines.
- I will also say: what I heard yesterday is based purely on unidentified correspondence with unidentified numbers, fragments of phrases, etc., do you understand?
That is, they take a fragment of a phrase from one messenger, then a fragment from another messenger. Then the judge asks the prosecutor: "Yes, and whose crypto wallet?".
The prosecutor says: "Well, I don't know whose wallet it is, there is no certificate there, but we found a screenshot in the correspondence in Shchygol's phone."
The screenshot is for one month, and earlier this phone was confiscated for two months, so how did this screenshot get there?
And it's always like that, you know?!
I heard it with my own ears and saw it with my own eyes. And that's why it was unpleasant for me.
- It is necessary to clarify, because SAP reported that Shchygol's income in recent years amounted to 4.5 million hryvnias, and NABU claims that they found about 1.5 million dollars in cryptocurrency in Shchygol's crypto wallet.
- Let me clarify right away. Again, there is a video on my Telegram channel where the prosecutor says he doesn't know whose wallet it is. Once again, you did not hear me, there should be a technical examination.
It must be proven that this is exactly Goldfinch's crypto wallet. And only after that it can be used as an accusation. And before that - the investigation process: collecting evidence, conducting the appropriate technical examination, and so on.
Now we will catch any person, let me for example, I will say "I have a crypto wallet". That's all, on the basis of this, any detective can now indict me.
We live in a constitutional country, it does not matter who this person is - an official or not an official - all relevant evidence, especially in serious criminal cases, must be clearly proven.
Another question: okay, now there is a preventive measure, over time, for example, he (Yurii Shchygol - editor) proves his innocence in court, what's next? Will someone apologize? I'm just curious - what's next? And maybe you can tell me the cases that have been brought to a court decision, with an indicted verdict? I don't remember this for a long time.
- The last point also concerns money, because he was searched and, according to law enforcement agencies, found more than 80,000 euros, more than 70,000 dollars in cash, and his official salary is not that big, really. Have you ever wondered where the money comes from?
- I didn't wonder. He announced officially that yes, it is his money. There is a question with declaration, I don't know, to be honest, how the military should declare correctly.
I submit my declaration conscientiously and constantly, the military there have some "issues" with the declaration.
But he said that he would be ready to declare this money - he confirmed this. And, by the way, NABU detectives did not insist on this money, from the point of view that they accused him of this money.
They based their accusation base purely on some mythical scheme that they drew for themselves, without evidence, by the way. And I, as a master of law, am very uncomfortable.
And on that crypto-wallet, or rather, on the screenshot of the correspondence from an unknown number in Shchygol's phone, which was confiscated two months ago, and the correspondence for some reason (appeared - ed.) later. That's all, that's the reality.
- You do not believe the version of the investigation and that is why you were ready to take Yuriy Shchygol on bail? That's in short.
– In short, I remember how recently the production of the military enterprise Archer was practically destroyed, and who destroyed it?
- Who?
– Who do you think ruined Archer production? Type in Google - and you will see.
In general, I am very interested in history: why everything in our country starts to work more or less - they come there and destroy it.
This is unknown to me. This is an investigation, and the court will prove whether Shchygol and Zhora are guilty or not. If they are guilty, then they go to prison and that is normal, corruption must be fought. But again, hear me out: I saw the 37th year yesterday. That's all.
Kostyantyn Korsun, cyber security expert, founder of the first emergency response center in the State Intelligence Service, deputy head of the department for combating computer crime at the Counterintelligence Department of the SBU (2000-2005):
– Tell me, please, and what reputation does Yuri Shchygol have in your professional environment? And did the news that he was suspected and taken into custody surprise you?
- The reputation is extremely low, and the accusation did not surprise me at all.
Moreover, I have been waiting for him for a long time since his appointment in 2020 to this high position. Because it just shocked me at the time.
And I tried to somehow explain, shout at society that "people are good, what are you doing."
This is the same person who was already detained in 2015 for attempting to receive and demand a bribe when he served in the SBU in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
There was even an article in "Ukrainian Pravda", but without his face. But he is standing there with his hands behind his back, and a pile of money is lying next to him.
And they also demanded a bribe from a businessman with a colleague. But for some reason this story was carefully hushed up.
The criminal case in that case in 2015 fell apart somehow. He was not proven guilty and was generally acquitted as far as I know. Although "knowledgeable" people told me that actually everything here is very difficult.
But less so. He continued his service in the SBU, then moved to Kyiv. And he already served in one of the SBU departments in Kyiv.
And then suddenly, somewhat unexpectedly, unexpectedly for everyone, he once became the head of the State Special Service. That is, he made such a very high career jump.
Although his reputation was known to everyone who knew him, who knew about his career and so on. When I was told this whole story, I was just shocked. And I simply did not understand how a person with such inclinations, let's say, was appointed to the actual position of the minister of the department responsible for the technical protection of information in Ukraine.
- By the way, here if you were listening, Oleksandr Fedienko was in front of you. This is one of the People's Deputies from "Servant of the People" who went to take Yuriy Shchygol as bail. And he said completely opposite things. He spoke of a good reputation. He said that the evidence has no basis. And that this, they say, was the 37th year. What he saw at the Goldfinch trial.
- Well, actually, Mr. Fedienko is an interested person. Because he has been working very "closely" with Yuriy Shchygol for a long time.
And together they are promoting the absolutely dictatorial bill 8087.
According to which the State Intelligence Service is repeatedly granted expanded powers that violate all democratic principles, all principles of building cyber security, this bill directly interferes and potentially harms the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defense.
This bill contains a huge number of new corruption risks. In addition to the fact that the State Special Intelligence Service already has a reputation as a corrupt department and not really needed by the country. And in addition to that, according to this draft law, he will be given enormous powers, simply monopoly.
Here is this system, when, you know, one forms the requirements, the second implements them, the third controls. It should be three different departments. So, according to this draft law, all this should be in one State Special Service.
- May I ask you a very simple question for people who are hearing about the State Intelligence Service for the first time. What does this organization do, why is it?
There are actually two questions here. Why she is - that's one question. And what she does is another question.
- Why is she?
According to the relevant law on the State Special Intelligence Service, they have, to put it very briefly, many powers, several dozen. But the main function, in fact, how they are positioned is technical cryptographic protection of information.
In recent years, they have been added withtasks for cyber protection of the country and state institutions, and non-state ones, and, in particular, critical infrastructure. Just recently, they were given the duty to protect critical infrastructure. That is, there are many, many powers on paper. Powers to conduct inspections, issue prescriptions, even impose fines, and so on.
And in fact, they are not responsible as such. That is, on paper, they are responsible for information security and network protection. But in fact, if some incident happens, they run into the bush and say: "Why are we here? We have nothing to do with it, answers the owner of the system, the owner of the information. We only form the requirements here, we go here, we control everything."
Well, that is the story.
And I have already stated publicly many times and have been saying for many years that in the form in which the State Intelligence Service is now, it should either be liquidated, or, most likely, what is more reasonable, some reasonable, really useful functions should be allocated and distributed them for other departments.
And in the field of cyber security, create a separate professional agency, preferably as independent as possible, which will deal precisely with cyber security issues. Because many different departments deal with cyber security in our country, but there is no system in this.
Over the past three years, I have written 27 posts about the problems and troubles of the State Special Service.
**Заголовок:**
"Former Head of State Special Communications Detained: Corruption Scandal Unfolds"
**Теги:**
#Corruption #LegalNews #Ukraine #AntiCorruptionCourt #YuriyShchyhol #DigitalTransformation #PoliticalChanges
**Висновок:**
Протягом двох місяців Вищий антикорупційний суд затримав колишнього керівника Державної служби спеціального звʼязку та захисту інформації, Юрія Щиголя, попри спроби депутатів взяти його на поруки від фракції "Слуга народу". НАБУ і САП повідомили про виявлення злочинної схеми, в якій, за їхніми словами, брали участь керівництво Держспецзв’язку. Щиголю пред'являють звинувачення у заволодінні державними коштами на суму понад 62 мільйони гривень. На відповідь, Кабінет міністрів того ж дня звільнив Щиголя та його заступника з питань цифрового розвитку Віктора Жору. Президент Зеленський виключив Щиголя із складу Ставки верховного головнокомандувача, замінивши його міністром цифрової трансформації Михайлом Федоровим. Радіо Свобода у програмі Свобода Live звернулося до громадськості для висловлення протилежних точок зору на цю ситуацію.
США проникли в систему слежки за россиянами, которую использует ФСБ
— Борис Викторович (@xxeegghhffrr) November 22, 2023
Спецслужбы США более 10 лет назад взломали СОРМ – российский аппаратно-программный комплекс для слежки за телефонными разговорами, СМС и всеми сообщениями, которыми жители РФ обмениваются в интернете.💪🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Nkj1gNWXrW
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