Investigation: how the hidden camera was destroyed in the “Avakov backpacks” case
A hidden camera that recorded negotiations in the office of former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Sergei Chebotar on the purchase of backpacks for the National Guard was destroyed as material evidence in pursuance of a court order in another criminal proceeding, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
This is stated in the journalistic investigation of “Schemes” (a joint project of Radio Liberty and the TV channel UA:Pershy).
It is noted that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) planned to use the recording device as material evidence in the case of embezzlement of funds for the purchase of backpacks for the National Guard, which involves Chebotar and the son of the Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov, Alexander.
The order to destroy material evidence, including a recording device from Chebotar’s office, was issued by the Boryspil City Court in July 2017 - two months after the announcement of the verdict against the director of the state-owned enterprise Spetsservice, Vasily Petrovsky, who was suspected of stealing sand from the balance sheet of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Petrovsky’s conversations with Chebotar, who until May 2015 was responsible for government procurement at the ministry, were recorded on a hidden camera installed by SBU officers at the request of the military prosecutor’s office.
The court decision in this case speaks of the need to destroy “the device that was received along with the cover letter from the Main Investigation Department of the SBU and which refers to special technical means of secretly obtaining information.”
According to Schemes, in November 2017, NABU detectives informed the court that the camera from Chebotar’s office could be evidence in the case of “Avakov’s backpacks.” However, the judge turned to the National Police with a request to destroy it.
Conversations not only about the theft of sand, but also about the purchase of backpacks, bypassing the legal tender procedure, were recorded on camera. The video recorded a man resembling Alexander Avakov discussing this with a man resembling Chebotar.
According to Schemes sources, a special commission destroyed the video camera even before NABU detectives went to court. The initiator of the petition for the destruction of material evidence in the Petrovsky case was probably lawyer Igor Yudin, who defended Petrovsky and now represents the interests of Chebotar.
Chairman of the Boryspil City District Court Sergei Voznyuk, who decided to destroy material evidence, explained that a representative of the Prosecutor General's Office during the court hearing assured that the devices to be destroyed “are not used in other proceedings.” He emphasized that at the time the decision was made, he did not know that this video camera recorded conversations in the “Avakov backpacks” case.
NABU claims that they have enough other evidence in the case, except for the destroyed video camera.
“These recordings are not the only evidence in the case. In my opinion, there is enough evidence for the case to be sent to court and heard on the merits,” said NABU Director Artem Sytnik.
On October 31, 2017, NABU conducted searches at the place of residence of those involved in criminal proceedings regarding abuses in the purchase of backpacks for the National Guard by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
After the searches, NABU detained Avakov’s son, ex-deputy head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Sergei Chebotar, as well as a representative of the company that won the tender for the supply of backpacks, Vladimir Lytvyn. They are charged with embezzlement in the amount of UAH 14 million in 2015.
On November 1, the Solomensky District Court of Kyiv appointed Alexander Avakov a preventive measure in the form of a personal commitment. The suspect was required to surrender his foreign passports and wear an electronic bracelet. The court chose the same preventive measure for Chebotar and Litvina.
On November 8, the court arrested the property of Alexander Avakov, but on December 19, the Kyiv Court of Appeal lifted the arrest from the property of the son of the Minister of Internal Affairs. On December 22, the court canceled the obligation for Alexander Avakov to wear an electronic bracelet.
On February 23, 2018, the court re-seized the property of Avakov Jr.
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