Owner of one of the Ukraine’s largest internet providers indicted for treason
The owner of one of the largest Ukrainian internet providers has been indicted for treason (Article 111 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code).
He is accused of helping the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to gain access to personal correspondence of Ukrainians in Crimea, which could be further used by the FSB to prosecute them, reported the press service of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
According to the investigation, the owner of the company, assisted by a lawyer and a Russian citizen, connected the telecommunications networks of his company to the Russian System of Operational and Investigative Activities, which monitors and stores personal data of Internet users in the territory of Crimea.
He also provided network access to the Russian hardware and software system "The Auditor" which is designed to block access to information resources, content and sites on the Internet, the list of which is determined by Roskomnazor, Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media.
"Providing this equipment and information for Russia operational and investigative activities allowed and individual units of the FSB helped to gain access to the communication of subscribers who are in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea and Sevastopol, and disclosed information about their location, the volume of services received," said in the Office of the Prosecutor General.
“This information was used by the Russian special services to detect and prosecute persons who do not agree with the change of borders of the territory of Ukraine and the occupation of Crimea, as well as to counter the legitimate activities of law enforcement and other bodies in Ukraine. Also, these criminal actions prevented the possibility of obtaining objective information which is necessary to protect the rights and freedoms of Ukrainians under occupation,” the Prosecutor General’s office stated.
On April 14, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) detained SBU Major General Valery Shaitanov, who is suspected of treason. According to investigators, he was preparing an attempted murder of military volunteer Adam Osmayev.