The security service exposed the Russian FSB intelligence network, which was conducting intelligence and subversive activities in the authorities. This network included officials from the Cabinet of Ministers and the Chamber of Commerce.
The SBUʼs counterintelligence operation carried out the operation in several stages. As a result, the head of the Cabinet Secretariat department and the head of one of the directorates of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry were detained in Kyiv.
The detainees passed on various intelligence information to the enemy — from the state of defense capabilities to the arrangement of the state border and personal data of Ukrainian law enforcement officers. They received from two to $ 15,000 for the task.
According to the SBU, the Russian government official was recruited in 2012 during a trip to Russia, after which he began collecting secret information circulating in the Cabinet. The Russians received copies of secret documents through a "liaison officer" — one of the employees of the Chamber of Commerce.
Zvyazkov was also recruited in Moscow by officers of the 5th FSB service. He received instruction in occupied Simferopol. It was prepared by his agent Yuri Vodolazky.
The scheme of transferring intelligence worked as follows: the government official transferred them to the "liaison" with the CCI, and the latter — further to Russia through encrypted communication channels.
The liaison officer received the award during meetings with curators in Crimea or third countries.
The detainees were informed about the suspicion of treason (Article 111 of the Criminal Code). The court sent them into custody.