The Prosecutor General's Office, headed by Yarema, officially stated that individual Ukrainian politicians have still not been notified of their suspicion of involvement in crimes.
Ukrainian authorities have jeopardized the EU sanctions imposed on associates of former President Viktor Yanukovych. According to Apostrophe, six months after opening criminal proceedings against 18 former officials whose assets the EU froze following the Maidan protests, the Prosecutor General's Office has not only failed to place eight of them on the international wanted list, but hasn't even notified them of the charges. Experts believe the Prosecutor General's Office's inaction not only increases the former president's associates' chances of overturning EU sanctions through European courts but also closes off Ukraine's avenue for returning stolen funds to the state budget.
The Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) press service reported on the evening of November 18 that the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) has still not notified certain Ukrainian politicians on the EU sanctions list of their suspicions of involvement in corruption crimes and crimes related to the events on the Maidan.
In particular, Viktor Yanukovych, the son of former President Viktor Yanukovych; Artem Pshonka, the son of former Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka; Serhiy Klyuyev, the brother of former Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Andriy Klyuyev; and Oleksiy Azarov, the son of former Prime Minister Mykola Azarov. All of them are members of parliament of the 7th convocation of the Verkhovna Rada. Furthermore, former Minister of Education and Science Dmytro Tabachnyk has still not received a notice of suspicion.Read more about it in the article Dmitry and Mikhail Tabachnik. Brother for brother), former Minister of Justice Elena Lukash, as well as former advisers to President Viktor Yanukovych Igor Kalinin and Andriy Portnov.
"The Prosecutor General's Office is investigating a number of criminal cases involving the theft of state property and abuse of office, and these individuals are being investigated for involvement in these crimes. As of today, no charges have been filed against them," the Prosecutor General's Office stated.
As a reminder, on March 5, the European Union imposed sanctions on 18 former Ukrainian officials, led by former President Viktor Yanukovych. In response to "human rights violations in Ukraine and the misappropriation of public funds," the EU decided to "freeze all assets and economic resources" related to the individuals listed. Almost immediately, individual individuals on the sanctions list appealed this decision to the General Court of the European Union in Luxembourg. Among others, the lawsuits were filed by Viktor Yanukovych and his sons Oleksandr and Viktor, Mykola Azarov and his son Oleksiy, Andriy and Serhiy Klyuyev, Andriy Portnov, and Serhiy Kurchenko, a businessman close to the former president's family. Notably, the politicians included on the list were not banned from entering EU countries, meaning that those not placed on the international wanted list can freely enter EU territory.
No one is looking, no one is waiting
According to Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Baganets, who oversaw the aforementioned cases from June to August, it was precisely the lack of suspect status for the individuals listed that prevented them from being placed on the national and international wanted lists. "Wanted lists can only be issued after a notice of suspicion has been served in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law. Then the investigator applies to the court to issue a notice of suspicion or freeze the accounts. When I was overseeing these cases, it was not possible to serve notices of suspicion on some individuals. For example, in the cases of Elena Lukash and Andriy Portnov, documentary audits had not yet been completed, and there were insufficient grounds to issue a notice of suspicion," Baganets explained.
However, according to lawyer Valentina Telichenko, who has repeatedly represented Ukrainian citizens in European courts, other individuals on the sanctions list were placed on the wanted list inappropriately. "They were placed on the wanted list without proper grounds. Not because there were no grounds, but because no one was looking for them. If Interpol detains an individual against whom sufficient evidence has not been collected, Ukraine will have its extradition request denied and will then be required to compensate the individual for legal assistance during the extradition process," the lawyer said.
According to a source close to European institutions, the Prosecutor General's Office's inaction not only allows former officials from Viktor Yanukovych's era to travel freely to EU countries, but also gives them a serious chance to extricate their European assets from sanctions through the courts.
"The EU has repeatedly requested the necessary documents from the Ukrainian side, but the Prosecutor General's Office has still not provided any evidence of these individuals' involvement in crimes. It is unacceptable for the EU to set a precedent by losing a court case over the unlawful imposition of sanctions. When there is a lack of documentary evidence, and aggressive pressure is being exerted through the courts, an alternative option for Brussels could be to remove these individuals from the sanctions list pending a court decision," the source asserts.
The Prosecutor General's Office is losing the key to its assets.
Experts confirm that, given the current state of affairs, the likelihood of sanctions against Viktor Yanukovych's associates being lifted is extremely high. "Sanctions are not a panacea; they are a gift to Ukraine, an advance payment from the EU: they instruct their banks and law enforcement agencies to find these people's assets and freeze them, but Ukraine must gather evidence and facts proving their criminal activities. The absence of an investigation is the best way to get the sanctions lifted," stated Daria Kaleniuk, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Action Center.
Valentina Telichenko notes that "in nine months, law enforcement agencies have still not begun a full-fledged investigation." "Apparently, in order to confuse the electorate and extract payoffs from Yanukovych's regime 'activists,' the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs have limited themselves to grandiose statements about opening criminal proceedings. They've gone no further. In reality, the only valuable information is the completion of the investigations and the court's finding the evidence sufficient," the lawyer stated.
Ms. Telichenko noted that Andriy Portnov has already won seven cases in Ukrainian courts against the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs regarding the "illegal dissemination of information that damages his reputation." "All of this is an extremely important argument in the case for lifting sanctions. Moreover, such decisions open the possibility of applying for refugee status in European countries, as they can be used as evidence of political persecution," the lawyer believes.
Notably, if the sanctions are lifted through legal action, former officials will be able to demand compensation from Ukraine for the damages they caused. Moreover, according to Valentyna Telichenko, the European Union could demand that Ukraine pay a fine for "providing information that was false." "The Prosecutor General's Office probably doesn't understand, or doesn't want to understand, that the key to the return of assets stolen from Ukraine lies in the hands of the Prosecutor General, who has sufficient authority to investigate how every hryvnia was stolen from the state budget and to confirm every single fact in EU countries," asserts Daria Kaleniuk.
Prosecutor's Truth
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