SSU regional officers told to contribute US$1,100 to US$3,300 toward senior official's bail, sources say

Officers serving in regional offices of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) have been instructed to transfer money to help cover bail for General Serhii Duka, who is suspected of involvement in a criminal organisation in the Carthage case, Ukrainska Pravda sources in law enforcement agencies said.

The instructions are circulating among staff at the SSU's Main Directorate D and its Main Directorate for Counterintelligence Protection of State Interests in the Sphere of Economic Security, according to the sources.

Operational officers are required to pay UAH 50,000, roughly US$1,100, each. Sector and department heads, along with their deputies, face a higher contribution of UAH 150,000, or about US$3,300.

One source said officers must make the transfer, capture a screenshot of the receipt and forward it to their superior. The department head then compiles a list of those who have paid and notifies Kyiv.

Ukrainska Pravda reported on 7 November that a message was already being circulated among SSU staff calling on personnel to contribute to a fundraiser for Duka's bail.

On 4 November, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) served notices of suspicion on five members of a criminal organisation in the Carthage case, Duka among them. Investigators believe the five regularly bribed senior law enforcement officials so that scam call centres and other illegal businesses could operate without interference.

Another suspect in the case, National Police official Volodymyr Tsenov, was remanded in custody with bail as an alternative, and US$330,000 in bail was paid for him on 6 November. A further suspect, Vitalii Rybalko, known as "Boxer", has been remanded in custody without the right to bail.

Oleksandr Abakumov, head of a NABU detective unit, said Duka threatened NABU detectives with a gun and smashed equipment with a hammer during a search of his property. Officers from the SSU's Alpha special forces unit attempted to evacuate him from the scene.

Journalists were barred from the courtroom on 6 November as the High Anti-Corruption Court considered a pre-trial restriction for Duka, though they were able to follow a livestream of the hearing from a separate room.

Later on 6 November, the court ordered Duka to be held in custody and set his bail at UAH 65 million, equivalent to US$1.4 million. The collections now being requested from SSU personnel are intended to help cover that sum.