Ukraine's fugitive ex-security council deputy secretary detained in Spain

A former first deputy secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, wanted for abuse of office, was detained in Spain, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) announced on May 14.

The statement did not name the ex-official, but details of the case indicate it relates to Oleh Hladkovsky, a former first deputy secretary of Ukraine's top security body who has been wanted since mid-April.

Hladkovsky was dismissed and charged in 2019 with purchasing military vehicles at artificially inflated prices, allegedly costing the state more than Hr 17 million (now $410,000).

Spanish law enforcement agencies detained the fugitive on May 14. Efforts to extradite him to Ukraine are underway, NABU said.

The ex-official, who was a long-time business partner and associate of former President Petro Poroshenko, was detained in October 2019, but the court released Hladkovsky from detention in March 2022 while the investigation was still ongoing.

NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) said that after his release, Hladkovsky, aged 55, stopped appearing in court and went abroad. Men aged 18-60 are prohibited from leaving the country under martial law, save for some exceptions.

In 2022, pictures of Hladkovsky in Warsaw surfaced, with Ukraine's Border Guard saying he left abroad for humanitarian work.

The High Anti-Corruption Court ordered Hladkovsky's arrest on May 13, this time in absentia.

Hladkovsky was charged with abuse of official position and providing false information on income. According to the investigation, Hladkovsky, along with an ex-deputy defense minister and a director of the ministry's military-technical policy department, purchased MAZ 6317 trucks at inflated prices in 2017.

The car manufacturer was a subsidiary of the Auto Assembly Plant No. 2, which was a part of Hladkovsky's Bohdan Corporation.

In February 2019, an investigation by Bihus.Info connected Hladkovsky's son, Ihor, to an extensive corruption scheme in Ukraine's defense industry.

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The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek