On April 6, 2021, the story of two SBU officers ended in the Supreme Court, who at the end of 2015 extorted money from the governor of the Holy Iberian Monastery of Odessa Diodorus money, frightening him with a criminal case for fraud with the parishioner’s land, writes the Telegram-channel “Labarum. Sim Pobedishi”.

“Colonel Kuzma Ivanov, who held the position of deputy head of the main department for the protection of national statehood of the Odessa department of the SBU, and Lieutenant Colonel Maxim Galkin, deputy head of the second department of the main department for the protection of national statehood, received 5 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property based on the results of the work of all three courts. For fraud, – the source writes. – Ivanov and Galkin initially wanted to receive $ 500 thousand, but bargained with the clergyman for $ 70 thousand. We agreed that they would receive $ 50 thousand immediately, and the rest after a successfully completed land scheme. Were delayed receiving the first tranche.”

In 2015, the Odessa Main Directorate of the SBU opened a criminal case against the leadership of the Odessa Holy Iveron Monastery. According to the materials of the case, the monastery is being built on allegedly illegally occupied land. The testimony of an Odessa resident who called himself an Orthodox parishioner and a victim of the monks’ land swindle was attached to the case.

The criminal case was falsification, the Supreme Court noted. Using this falsification, Ivanov and Galkin offered the abbot of the monastery, Archbishop Diodor (Vasilchuk), a deal: either he pays money to close the criminal case, or goes to court, and then the monastery will be liquidated. The closure of the case for a non-existent crime was estimated by the esbees at $ 500,000.

During the arrest in 2015, the SBU officers said that “everyone does this” and saw nothing defamatory in their actions.