The SSU has detained the former Minister of Energy of the occupied Crimea in Kyiv
The Security Service of Ukraine has detained in Kyiv the former head of the Crimean Autonomous Republic’s Republican Committee on Fuel, Energy and Innovation Policy, who defected to the Russian Federation following the temporary occupation of the peninsula in 2014.
According to the investigation, almost immediately after the annexation of Crimea, he obtained Russian citizenship and offered his assistance to the occupying authorities.
He was subsequently appointed as the so-called ‘Minister of Fuel and Energy of the Republic of Crimea’. In this role, he helped the occupying administration establish control over the peninsula’s strategic energy facilities.
These include the Simferopol and Sevastopol combined heat and power stations, the Tavriya Thermal Power Station, a network of solar and wind power stations, gas pipelines, gas compressor stations, as well as oil depots and oil terminals in Kerch and Feodosia.
Furthermore, during the two years following his appointment, he was involved in the integration and re-registration of Crimean energy assets under Russian legislation.
After his dismissal from the occupying government, the suspect continued to work in the interests of the Kremlin, heading a number of companies in the extractive industry.
SSU officers detained him in Kyiv, where he had travelled to attend to personal matters.
During searches of his residence, law enforcement officers seized Russian passports, bank cards and documents which, according to the investigation, confirm his activities in the interests of the Russian Federation.
The suspect has been charged under Part 1 of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine with high treason.
He is currently in custody without the right to bail. The offence carries a sentence of up to 15 years’ imprisonment with confiscation of property.
The operation was carried out by SSU officers in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea under the procedural supervision of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.
