Ukraine asks Serbia to extrqdite ex-SBU general Naumov
Ukraine has sent a request to Serbia for the extradition of Andriy Naumov, the former head of the Main Directorate of Internal Security of the SBU, who is recognized in Ukraine as a member of the state and aiding Russian troops in seizing the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
“The court of the city of Nis is considering the case of the citizen of Ukraine Andrii Naumov based on the request for extradition to Ukraine”, – says the letter of the press secretary of the court’s response to the request of BBC News Serbia.
Naumov, whom Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi called a traitor and stripped of his brigadier general rank, left the country on February 23, a few years before the start of the Russian invasion.
The State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine reported that Andriy Naumov could collect and transfer to the Russian special services data establishing a state secret, in particular, regarding the security system of the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
Before joining the SBU, Andriy Naumov managed the state-owned enterprise “Center for Organizational, Technical and Information Support of Management of the Exclusion Zone”. He is involved in a number of journalistic investigations into contraband imports and corruption schemes at customs. Even as the head of the Main Department of Internal Security of the SBU, he appeared in the investigation of the “Schemes” journalists about the acquisition of elite property, which is not comparable to the official incomes of civil servants.
In early June, Naumov was detained at the border crossing between Serbia and North Macedonia. The police found undeclared funds in it: more than 600,000 euros and about 125,000 dollars in cash, as well as value.
Ukrainian businessman and German citizen Oleksandr Akst was in the car with him, who was also detained. Naumov and Akst are in the pre-trial detention center of the city of Nis, charged with money laundering.
Stands for extradition
It is not known that Kyiv indicated the reason for Naumov’s extradition, after the first hearing, which took place on October 19, Ukraine’s petition was not read, Naumov’s lawyer Tanya Savych told the BBC.
The meeting was postponed because Naumov asked for an interpreter, she adds.
“We do not officially know whether extradition is required on the basis of some general crime, or whether it is treason, after which the president of Ukraine mentioned it several times,” says Savych.
Meanwhile, a source in Ukraine’s special services told the BBC that in September a request was made to Serbia to extradite Naumov.
Savich says that her client told the court that he fears for his life in case of extradition to Ukraine.
“In 2020, an attempt was made on him, and we have a court verdict against the person who did it.”
“There is a suspicion that the leaders are now in the highest presidential circles. He says: if he is extradited, it will be his death sentence,” Savych claims.
A source in the Ukrainian special services reported that extradition is being demanded on conviction of corruption.
“The reason is corruption, embezzlement of state funds. That way there are more chances that it will be returned,” the source explains.
The Agreement on International Cooperation in Criminal Matters, which regulates the issue of extradition, is in force between Ukraine and Serbia.
Serbia’s Ministry of Justice, which is responsible for the extradition of foreign nationals, had not responded to the BBC’s questions about Naumov’s extradition request at the time of publication.
There was also no response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is responsible for communication with state bodies of other countries.
Two cases
Currently, the High Court of Niš is considering two cases regarding Naumov: extradition to Ukraine and conviction in the withdrawal of money.
The investigation in the last case is still ongoing, so the term of detention of the defendant was extended several times – the last time until December 2.
This is the deadline after which the court must either indict or dismiss the case.
“Everything is at the same stage as four months ago, there is no guilty verdict yet, we are waiting for some more evidence,” says Savych, one of the four lawyers representing Naumov in both cases.
At the time of publication of this article, the Nysha prosecutor’s office did not respond to the BBC’s inquiries about the status of the investigation against Naumov.
As reported “Radio Free Europe“, at the request of the Prosecutor’s Office of Serbia, the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office recently reported that Naumov is under investigation for abuse of office.
“He (Naumov) provided us with information that these investigations have been completed, that he has proof of this, and that he was subsequently appointed head of the SBU and given the rank of general,” says Savych.
“Whether any new evidence appeared, whether it was rediscovered, what happened during this time in Ukraine, we do not have any information yet, and we are waiting to hear more about it,” says Savych.
She adds that now the main question is how the extradition procedure will affect the money laundering case.
“Now everything is suspended to see what will happen with the extradition, because it turned out to be the most urgent matter at the moment,” says Savych.
Who is Andriy Naumov?
Halyna KorbAh, BBC News Ukraine
40-year-old Andriy Naumov has extensive work experience in the security forces of Ukraine. He worked for 12 years in the Prosecutor General’s Office, in recent years he was responsible for material and technical support there.
After that, for a short time, he held management positions in the State Administration of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone – this agency is responsible for all types of economic activity in the safety zone, which was delineated around the Chernobyl NPP after the accident in 1986.
From there, Naumov actually transferred to the Security Service of Ukraine after it was headed in 2019 by Ivan Bakanov, a former close ally and even friend of President Zelenskyi.
Investigative journalists, in particular, Radio Svoboda, called Naumov Bakanov’s “long-time second and right-hand man”, although the officials themselves never commented on such assessments.
In the SBU, Naumov received the position of head of the main department of internal security, and a year ago, in 2020, President Zelenskyi awarded him the rank of brigadier general for the first time in the history of the SBU.
Andrii Naumov has always had a very private life, there are very few photos of him on the Internet, he communicated with journalists in a unique way, and the activities of the administration, which he headed, were actually classified.
With all that, he became involved in loud scandals several times. In October 2020 Schemes program published an investigation, according to which Naumov’s relatives in recent years took possession of elite property that did not correspond to their incomes – an apartment in an expensive new building in the center of Kyiv and not far from the capital.
At the same time, journalists say that Naumov himself is actually using the property. They also discovered that his mother’s apartment was allegedly bought for a price that was three times lower than the market price. Which raised the question of at least elimination from paying taxes, what is more – about possible corruption.
A few months later, in January 2021, the SBU unexpectedly announced the disclosure of a high-profile case. It seems that another high-ranking official from the Service – the former first deputy head of the SBU, Dmytro Neskoromny, was preparing an attempt on Andriy Naumov.
According to the investigation, Naumov prevented Neskory from returning to a high position in the SBU. Sedadvnyi himself has since moved on from the investigation, but said that the appeals against him are groundless.
In the summer of 2021, Naumov was suddenly dismissed from the SBU. Officially, the president’s office explained this as the need for “systemic transformation”, unofficially, the media reported that the president is unhappy with the fact that the SBU is increasingly being attributed with smuggling connections.
Also, opposition journalist Yuriy Butusov stated that Naumov “managed smuggling schemes, closed and opened custom criminal cases and squeezed business.” He also attributed to him cooperation in smuggling matters with Oleksandr Akst – that is the man with whom Naumov was later detained in Serbia.
Neither Naumov nor the SBU leadership commented on such accusations.
Again, Naumov’s name lit up in Ukrainian politics after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The “Schemes” program reported that he had left Ukraine a few years before the invasion, and in March several Naumovs were searched. Subsequently, the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) reported that Naumov was involved in criminal proceedings for treason.
Later, the SBI specified that it was Naumov who could collect and transfer data to the Russian special services regarding the security system of the exclusion zone around the Chernobyl station. He could collect these data both as a person who once managed the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and as an official of the SBU.
After the beginning of the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian authorities admitted that it was a complete surprise for them that the Russians began an attack on Kyiv from the Chornobyl NPP, and occupied the station itself for several weeks, until they were pushed out of Kyiv region by Ukrainian troops.
On March 31, Zelensky deprived Naumov of the rank of brigadier general. And in the traditional evening address of that day, the president actually called the exhibitor a “traitor.”
As the BBC found out, the Ukrainian authorities expect to return Naumov, who was later detained in Serbia, to bring him to court.
“Naumov was declared an international wanted man, and documents for extradition were submitted at the beginning of September,” a source in the law enforcement agencies told the BBC.
At the same time, as of October 13, Naumov was not among the wanted persons, neither at the base of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, nor at the base of Interpol.
In the first months after the Russian invasion, it became known at once about several high-profile cases of treason on the part of SBU officials at various levels. Some of them, like Naumov, owed their career to Ivan Bakanov.
After much deliberation, the president did initiate the dismissal of his friend Bakanov from the position of head of the SBU.