The Executive Service denies that SBU and Halushchenko agreed to keep NABU detective Maghamedrasulov in a cell “with unpleasant neighbours”

The State Penitentiary Service (SPS) denied that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) requested to place NABU detective Ruslan Maghamedrasulov in a "free cell with unpleasant neighbors," and that then-Minister of Justice Herman Galushchenko facilitated this.

This is stated in a post by SPS on Facebook.

Yesterday, at the trial of Halushchenko in the Midas case, the prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office (SAPO) reported this. The prosecutor read out a phone message from Deputy Minister of Justice Yevhen Pikalov to Halushchenko, dated July 21, 2025. At that time, Herman Halushchenko had been in office as head of the Ministry of Justice for only six days.

Pikalov wrote that SBU asked him to place the detained head of the NABU unit in a “free cell with unpleasant neighbours” in the Lukyanivka pre-trial detention center. A little later, Pikalov sent Halushchenko a photo of the cell. Halushchenko replied “+”. Pikalov still works at the Ministry of Justice.

The State Committee for Internal Affairs responded that Maghamedrasulov was in an average cell in the Lukyanivka pre-trial detention center, alone all the time, in a block intended for former and current law enforcement officers.

They added that most prison cells in Ukraine, especially in pre-trial detention centers, need major repairs. For example, the Lukyanivka pre-trial detention center was built in 1863.

The case of Maghamedrasulov and Herman Halushchenko

On July 21, law enforcement officers conducted mass searches at NABU and SAPO. NABU reported at the time that the searches were conducted without a court order. In particular, Maghamedrasulov was detained then.

Ruslan and his father, Sentyabr Maghamedrasulov, are accused of illegal business with the Russian Federation and the sale of industrial hemp to Dagestan. Both are suspected of aiding and abetting an aggressor state.

The father and son do not admit guilt, and Ruslan Maghamedrasulov and his defense insist that the authorities opened cases against them only to pressure and compromise the Bureau.

In September, the detective was charged with another crime. According to investigators, he helped conversion centers with fraud.

In December 2025, Rustem Maghamedrasulov was released from custody, and his father was transferred to night house arrest. Prosecutor General Kravchenko stated at the time that the risks of obstructing the investigation had decreased.

In November 2025, NABU reported on a large-scale "Midas" operation to expose corruption in the energy sector. According to the bureau, “Energoatom” counterparties were forced to pay kickbacks in order to avoid blocking payments for services provided and products supplied or being deprived of supplier status.

The head of the NABU detective group Oleksandr Abakumov reported in November that Maghamedrasulov helped obtain a number of evidence in the “Energoatom” corruption case.

From the shown NABU recordings, it became clear that Halushchenko was one of the defendants in the case, and law enforcement officers searched his home. Later, due to the scandal, he was dismissed from the post of Minister of Justice. On February 15, Halushchenko was detained while trying to leave the country.

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