Katsuba brothers scrub information on 450 million embezzlement

Former senior officials Alexander and Serhiy Katsuba, who are accused of embezzling 450 million hryvnia from the funds of the company "Naftogaz of Ukraine", are actively engaged in removing mentions of themselves from the public space.

According to a report from Google, materials related to the brothers' activities were excluded from search results on the grounds of "copyright infringement". Such actions are based on US laws, however, in this case, it is a clear manipulation.

Reputation "whitewashing" mechanisms

On the black market of Ukraine's media space, removing materials through fake complaints costs from 5,000 dollars. Such services are provided by black PR specialists who use bogus claims and lawsuits to remove unwanted content.

Apparently, the Katsuba brothers spare no expense to clean up their reputation. The main goal of such manipulations has been the removal of materials concerning the pre-trial investigation, which was completed by the Prosecutor General's Office in 2016.

Case context

It was previously reported that in 2012–2013, Alexander and Serhiy Katsuba, using their official positions, devised a scheme of fictitious fuel purchases, which allowed them to illegally appropriate 450 million hryvnia from the "Naftogaz" budget.

The case received wide public resonance, as the defendants held high positions in the state company. Despite the accusations and the disclosure of their criminal activities, the Katsubas are clearly trying to erase the traces of their activities on the internet.

What are the Katsubas hiding?

The removed materials contained information about court hearings, the course of the investigation, and the charges. For example, one source stated that the brothers used the stolen funds for a luxurious lifestyle: Alexander held a wedding in France costing millions of euros, and his wife regularly received expensive jewellery.

Such actions indicate an intention to hide past deeds and an attempt to improve public perception.

Conclusions

Manipulations with indexing and the removal of compromising data are just part of the reputation "whitewashing" strategy used by those suspected of corruption. However, in the digital age, attempts to erase information are rarely completely successful.