The court has reopened the case of smuggler Alperin, in which the sister of the scandalous top official of NABU, Oleksandr Skomarov, is involved
Kyiv • UNN
The Supreme Court has resumed consideration of the case of smuggler Alperin, in which Oleksandr Skomarov's sister from NABU is involved. Skomarov is applying for the position of director of the BEB.
The Supreme Court did not allow closing the case of "king of contraband" Vadym Alperin, in which the sister of a top NABU official, Oleksandr Skomarov, is a suspect. This became known from the Unified State Register of Judicial Investigations and a source in the judicial system. Skomarov himself recently tried to take his sister Alina Danchenko on bail and tried to dismiss the accusations of conflict of interest, and today he is applying for the position of director of the Bureau of Economic Security.
Yes, the Supreme Court, by a panel of judges of the First Chamber of the Criminal Cassation Court, returned the Alperin case to the court of first instance for consideration. In particular, the judges refused to close the proceedings and the participation of the suspects in the meetings in video conference mode. This also applies to the suspect in this case, the sister of the head of NABU detectives, Oleksandr Skomarov – Alina Danchenko (maiden name – Skomarova).
The NABU official's sister is the former director of the Department of Administration of Customs Payments of the State Fiscal Service, who, according to the investigation, assisted Alperin. NABU started the case against Vadym Alperin back in 2017. According to detectives, the state lost almost 64 million hryvnias due to the activities of the criminal organization.
During the searches, detectives found correspondence between Danchenko and Alperin himself. The official gave instructions to customs officers, specifying which violations should be allowed during customs clearance of goods, and which should not.
Oleksandr Skomarov wanted to take Danchenko on bail as a brother, but the court refused him. During the interview for the competition to the NACP, where Skomarov applied, commission member Laura Stefan called it a "conflict of interest": the case is being handled by NABU detectives, and the detective himself could have received information important for the defense of his sister and directly influence the investigation.
Later, the case of "king of contraband" Vadym Alperin was closed due to the defense's motion to apply the "Lozovyi's amendments" to the investigation. The decision in the appellate instance was appealed by SAP prosecutors, resuming the consideration.
As reported, the head of the NABU detectives unit, Oleksandr Skomarov, who is currently being considered as the first candidate for the position of director of the BEB, concealed the Russian citizenship and business in the "LPR" of his father. According to the law, he was obliged to inform the NABU management and the competition commission, which is selecting the future head of the BEB, about these facts.
Also, according to media reports, Skomarov previously had a significant conflict of interest related to his wife's work in companies owned by oligarch Ihor Kolomoiskyi. Until 2023, Olha Skomarova worked as an assistant to the general director of TRK "Studio 1+1", and later as a product manager of "Plus TV". Skomarov, as a detective, was involved in the investigation of cases related to "PrivatBank", which was co-owned by Ihor Kolomoiskyi.
