NABU and SAP used a photo of a "fake" safe in the "Carthage" case

Lawyer Vitaliy Serdyuk stated that the photo of an opened “unauthorized” safe with cash, which NABU and SAP used when covering operation “Carthage”, was taken in the course of another criminal proceeding and, he says, does not concern employees of the Office of the Prosecutor General. Serdyuk noted that he was personally present during the search and the opening of the safe. According to him, the investigative actions were carried out on property belonging to his client’s family as part of the so‑called “land” proceeding.

“Neither this safe nor this criminal proceeding are related to operation “Carthage” or employees of the Office of the Prosecutor General,” – the lawyer said.

According to him, the VAKS warrant provided for the search of documents, electronic media and other materials, however cash allegedly was not included in the list of property the court explicitly authorized to be searched for. Serdyuk also claims that during the search the defense provided documents regarding the origin of the money and banking transactions. The safe itself, he says, was opened voluntarily: the client handed law enforcement officers the key and the access code.

After the search, the photo of the opened safe with cash appeared in NABU and SAP information materials about operation “Carthage”. The lawyer believes that this could have created the impression among the public that the funds were found during the investigation into officials of the Office of the Prosecutor General, call centers and asset legalization.

The defense appealed to the leadership of NABU and SAP demanding they stop using the photograph in that context. The lawyer also demands that the money seized during the search be returned to its owner. At the same time, the prosecution’s position differs. SAP prosecutor Mykola Karas said during the VAKS hearing that the official position of NABU and SAP is that the published photo of the safe relates to the special operation “Carthage”.

Recall that NABU reported that within operation “Carthage” it exposed a criminal organization that, according to the investigation, received illicit gains from fraudulent call centers and laundered million‑dollar assets. Five people have been notified of suspicion in the case.

Previously we wrote:

• When the “cover” began to leak: how call centers led NABU straight to the Prosecutor General’s office
• Ruslan Kravchenko resigned from the post of Prosecutor General
• VAKS placed the driver of an official of the Office of the Prosecutor General in custody with bail set at 3 million UAH
• The Office of the Prosecutor General confirmed NABU’s night investigative actions in the leadership’s official premises
• A criminal organization linked to fraudulent call centers was exposed in the Office of the Prosecutor General