Criminal case against Ukraine's minister: Anti-corruption prosecutors respond to rumors
Photo: Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna (Vitalii Nosach/RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and Minister of Justice, Olha Stefanishyna, has not been served any notice of suspicion. Media reports claiming otherwise are inaccurate, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) reports.
The SAPO reported that, given the public outcry, the dissemination of information in the media and inquiries, they may reveal that the criminal proceedings concern possible abuses by officials of the National Agency of Ukraine for the Detection, Search and Management of Assets obtained from corruption and other crimes.
The investigation is being conducted on the grounds of a crime under Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - abuse of official position. No suspicions have been announced to any person in this case.
"The pre-trial investigation has been assigned to NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine - ed.) detectives. The basis for launching the investigation was materials from a journalistic investigation by Ukrainska Pravda (Ukrainian news agency - ed.)," SAPO stated.
On July 16, MP Oleksii Honcharenko claimed that a criminal case had allegedly been opened against Stefanishyna for possible misconduct, allegedly initiated by SAPO.
Earlier, several Ukrainian media outlets published investigations related to Stefanishyna's apartment. Ukrainska Pravda also released a report claiming that individuals from her circle had gained control over four major real estate assets through ARMA.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government reshuffle, which began on July 16, is expected to affect Stefanishyna as well. In particular, she may step down from her current posts.
