The former SBU general, who is suspected of helping the Russians seize the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, was convicted in Serbia of money laundering. It is not issued to Ukraine

The former head of the Main Directorate of Internal Security of the Security Service of Ukraine, Andrei Naumov, was again found guilty of money laundering in Serbia. He was sentenced to one year in prison, as well as deportation from Serbia for five years - the time served will not be included in the above-mentioned measure, so he will be deported after that. Naumov was also ordered to pay a fine of 200 thousand dinars (€1,700). He can appeal the court decision; it has not yet entered into force. A year ago, in September 2023, the court had already sentenced Naumov to a year in prison, but the sentence was overturned on appeal and the case was sent for a new trial. All this time, Naumov was at large, writes Radio Liberty.

The trial of Naumov began on November 7, 2022. He, along with a German citizen, a person involved in numerous journalistic investigations about smuggling in Ukraine, Alexander Akst, was arrested by Serbian police in June of the same year. The car in which they tried to cross the Serbian-Macedonian border contained hundreds of thousands of euros and dollars, as well as two emeralds. Police said they suspected the money and emeralds were obtained "as a result of criminal activity."

Andrei Naumov's motorcade with money and jewelry hastily left the territory of Ukraine literally a few hours before the start of the war. To flee the country, he used several minibuses loaded with cash and jewelry, including diamonds. The cars headed to Germany, where the former brigadier general was hiding before his arrest in Serbia.

Before heading the Main Directorate of Internal Security of the SBU in 2019, Naumov headed the state enterprise “Center for Organizational, Technical and Information Support for Exclusion Zone Management” and, due to the nature of his activities, could know and collect information constituting a state secret about the security systems of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant facilities .

According to Ukrainian investigators, Naumov could have collected this information. The Insider's sources in the Ukrainian special services believe that he could have passed on information to the Russian special services that allowed the Russian army to quickly seize the territory of the Chernobyl exclusion zone. It was under the control of the Russian military for a month before they retreated from the Kyiv region in March 2022.

In this regard, it is unclear where exactly Serbia plans to deport Naumov after serving his sentence: Ukraine demands his extradition, but Serbia refuses to extradite him due to “possible political persecution” at home. Previously, there was an option in which he would be handed over to Russia: according to The Insider's sources, former director of the Serbian Information Security Agency Alexander Vulin tried to facilitate such an extradition in exchange for Naumov's testimony against Vladimir Zelensky; he even discussed this topic with the Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev . Vulin later resigned.