UPDATE: Security service searches Yandex offices in Ukraine in treason case

(Adds Ukrainian comments in paragraphs 2–5)

MOSCOW/KIEV, May 29 (PRIME) -- The Security Service of Ukraine is carrying out searches of offices of Russian Internet giant Yandex in the cities of Kiev and Odessa under a treason case, the service’s spokeswoman Yelena Gitlyanskaya said in a Facebook post on Monday.

The service said in a statement that law enforcement authorities found that Yandex’s management illegally collected, accumulated, and handed over to Russia personal data of Ukrainian citizens.

The information included occupation, mode of life, residence, employment, sources of income, and the like. “Special services registered that among the citizens, on whom information was transferred to the Russian Federation, are officers of law enforcement entities and special services,” the statement read.

The information was given to Russian special services allegedly “for planning, organizing, and conducting intelligence, subversive, information sabotaging operations to the detriment of Ukraine’s sovereignty,” as the country’s security watchdog said.

“Experts will also analyze redirection of traffic of Ukrainian users to Russian servers and check coordination of illegal activities from the territory of the Russian Federation,” the service said.

Yandex said in a statement earlier that Ukrainian offices of the company in the two cities have been visited by people from the Security Service of Ukraine.

“We do not have any information on today’s activities of the Security Service of Ukraine. Lawyers are on their way to our offices. We’re ready to provide all required information to the authorities within legal procedures,” Yandex said.

Yandex’ resources have been banned in Ukraine since May 17 under President Pyotr Poroshenko’s sanctions against a list of Russian companies and individuals.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitri Peskov said “we are not in possession of the whole information.” “We should understand first what it is linked to. We don’t know it yet. That’s why I can’t tell you any more details,” he said.

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