Treason disguised as corruption. Did Bakanov accept money for surrendering Ukrainian territories to Russia?

Two-room apartment facing Moscow

Corruption at the top of government, particularly in Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s inner circle, has long ceased to be a sensational topic. After Minditchgate, Ukrainians are perhaps no longer surprised by anything. However, the word “corruption” is often used in an overly broad sense, as a synonym for the abuse of power for selfish gain. Sometimes it serves as a cover for an even worse crime: treason.

Incidentally, this also applies to Mindichgate. On the “Mindich tapes,” recorded during the investigation into corruption in the energy sector and defense, the defendants discussed sending a “two-ruble note to Moscow”—that is, a certain sum of “black” funds ($2 million) to Andriy Derkach, a traitor to Ukraine and now a Russian senator, a hero of Russia. From traitors to a traitor.

Last November, MP Oleksiy Honcharenko of the European Solidarity party sent a parliamentary appeal to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) asking them to investigate whether Timur Mindych had ties to Russian intelligence agencies. Honcharenko soon received a response: “The SBU has opened a pre-trial investigation against the individual you mentioned, as well as individuals associated with him, as part of a criminal proceeding under Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason) . This case is investigating possible activities that undermine the sovereignty, integrity, and economic security of Ukraine in the interests of an aggressor state.”

In December, NABU Director Semyon Kryvonos announced that the SBU had expressed its willingness to cooperate with NABU in investigating the transfer of funds to Russia by defendants in a corruption scheme in the energy sector. He confirmed that they were investigating possible connections with the aggressor country. According to him, NABU had already transferred some materials to the SBU. “As for this ‘two-room’ case and other matters, we are currently investigating ourselves,” he said.

“A very large sum from the Russian secret services.”

An even more shocking story was told by businessman Sergei Vaganyan, who was part of Ivan Bakanov and Andrey Naumov’s team when Bakanov headed the SBU, and Naumov headed the SBU’s Main Directorate of Internal Security. As reported by DS, on January 19, the NABU announced the opening of a criminal case into allegations of bribery by former SBU officials . The case was based on Vaganyan’s public statements, voiced in an interview on former MP Boryslav Bereza’s YouTube channel, about a system of corrupt extortion that allegedly operated within the SBU during Bakanov and Naumov’s tenure. However, in subsequent episodes of his interview, Vaganyan revealed not only this system but also much worse.

According to Vaganyan, following the assassination attempt, he was forced to flee Ukraine on September 16, 2021. The following year, officials from the State Bureau of Investigation (DBI), including Bohdan Chobitok, head of the DBI’s Internal Control Department, arrived in Vienna to interview him, according to Vaganyan, ” to take testimony in the treason case against Naumov and Bakanov .” “A meeting took place during which I clearly presented specific materials for the criminal proceedings and testified about the treason case and the corrupt actions of Naumov and Bakanov,” Vaganyan says.

After this, in July 2022, Zelenskyy dismissed Bakanov as head of the SBU, and the Verkhovna Rada, on Zelenskyy’s recommendation, dismissed Bakanov. But the State Bureau of Investigation suddenly lost interest in Vaganyan’s testimony. “I was never questioned again. But I am prepared to provide these testimony and am prepared to continue cooperating with the investigation,” Vaganyan says.

What does he know? “On the eve of the full-scale invasion, a few hours later, Bakanov and Naumov crossed the Ukrainian state border in six cars toward the European Union. They were fully loaded with cash,” Vaganyan said. According to him, Bakanov and Naumov then went their separate ways.

Naumov’s subsequent fate has been widely reported in the media. He lived in Germany for several months, then left for Serbia. On June 7, 2022, while attempting to cross the border between Serbia and North Macedonia, he was detained with undeclared cash—600,000 euros and $120,000—along with German citizen Alexander Akst, the subject of numerous journalistic investigations into smuggling in Ukraine.

Here’s a detail the media hasn’t previously reported: “By the way, Alexander Akst somehow had a covert passport issued by the Security Service of Ukraine under Ivan Bakanov’s leadership,” says Vaganyan.

Back in June 2022, the State Bureau of Investigation reported that “a pre-trial investigation is underway into possible treason against a Ukrainian citizen who, while holding the position of head of a state-owned enterprise supporting the operation of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, and subsequently, a senior position in the Security Service of Ukraine, collected information on the functioning of security systems.” This is about Naumov. Before joining the SBU, Andriy Naumov headed the state-owned enterprise “Center for Organizational, Technical, and Information Support for the Management of the Exclusion Zone.”

Vaganyan claims that Naumov was brought to the SBU “personally by Bakanov.” And here’s the key information about Bakanov and Naumov from Vaganyan: “They received a very large sum of money from the Russian intelligence services, with the help of Akst, since Akst has legal entities in Germany, through Germany and Cyprus, to surrender part of Ukrainian territory. It’s no secret what happened in the first days of the war. It’s no secret how they entered the Mykolaiv region.”

“Was the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant included in these conditions?” Bereza asked him. “Yes,” he replied.

In the third episode of the interview, Vaganyan emphasized: “Bakanov, whom Zelensky is currently hiding, is the greatest evil in Ukraine in terms of the law enforcement system, because he and Naumov have surrendered so much territory , they’ve aided the enemy so much. This is truly a state crime.”

Of course, it’s doubtful that the investigation against Bakanov, conducted by the SBU or the State Bureau of Investigation, would have any prospects under the current government. But corruption comes to the rescue here. At least there are corruption investigations, and not just in Ukraine. According to Vaganyan, he cooperates with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), Western financial services, and the American FBI.

Incidentally, political scientist Vladimir Tsybulko reported that, according to media reports, Ivan Bakanov, a former SBU officer accused of official negligence, is not involved in any criminal proceedings , which may indicate the authorities’ reluctance to investigate his connection with FSB agent Oleg Kulinich for political reasons.

It was previously reported that former head of the Security Service of Ukraine Ivan Bakanov, who is accused of failing to fulfill his official duties resulting in human casualties, faces no charges . According to an investigation by Ukrayinska Pravda, Bakanov continues to practice law, and his son works in law enforcement.

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