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The Ukrainian Security Service and the Prosecutor’s Office have announced a new suspicion addressed to the leader of the Opposition Platform – For Life, MP Viktor Medvedchuk, who is Vladimir Putin’s godfather. The investigation blames the Ukrainian politician for organizing a scheme for the supply of coal from the self-proclaimed DPR and LPR to the territory controlled by Ukraine in 2014. Thus, Medvedchuk, together with the leadership of Ukraine of that period, assisted the pro-Russian separatists, financed terrorism and committed high treason. think in the SBU.
On the evening of October 8, the head of the SBU Ivan Bakanov and the prosecutor general Irina Venediktova called a press conference and announced to journalists a new episode in the Medvedchuk case. In 2014, due to hostilities in the Donbas, most of the Ukrainian coal mines fell under the control of pro-Russian militants, and there was not enough fuel for Ukrainian thermal power plants. In August of that year, the state-owned company Ukrinterenergo signed a contract for the purchase of a million tons of coal from the South African Republic. However, later, the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said that coal from Africa is expensive and of poor quality. The Prosecutor General’s Office launched an investigation, and the director of Ukrinterenergo was arrested. Soon, instead of African coal, Ukraine bought the missing fuel from mines located in the territories controlled by the DPR and LPR.
At the briefing, it was said that Viktor Medvedchuk, who at that time was Ukraine’s special representative for humanitarian issues in the trilateral contact group, persuaded the Ukrainian leadership to deliver supplies from the uncontrolled territories. The investigation believes that he, together with the authorities of Russia, the DPR and LPR, has developed a supply scheme.
The wiretap, which turned out to be in the case file, mentions the opening in the DPR of a branch of the state-owned Ukreximbank to receive money for coal. According to the investigation, Ukraine transferred an advance payment for coal to the DPR and LPR in cash.
The investigation believes that Viktor Medvedchuk controlled coal supplies under this scheme and was in constant contact with the authorities of Ukraine and Russia. As a confirmation, the SBU released the recordings of telephone conversations of the politician with the adviser to the President of Russia Vladislav Surkov, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak and the Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov. On the tapes, a voice similar to Medvedchuk reports to the Russians about the details of the deliveries.
Judging by the records, after completing all the documents on the supplies, Medvedchuk reported this to the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Russia Vladimir Ostapenko. “There were so many nuances. […] Well, in short, we finished it off, Volodya. So tell them there that everyone’s done. And they made electricity and coal, ”says a voice similar to Medvedchuk.
When the separatists received money for coal, the Minister of Fuel, Energy and Coal Industry of the LPR Dmitry Lyamin told the commandant of the city of Stakhanov Pavel Dremin about it. “Most importantly, Pash, I swear to you, my dream has come true. It took me four months to get there. We sent coal. And we received an advance payment from Dill, without any taxes on the other side, ”Lyamin said, according to wiretapping materials.
In total, according to the prosecutor’s office, in 2015 Ukraine transferred at least UAH 200 million for coal to the LPR and DPR (about $ 50 million at the then exchange rate). The investigation believes that thereby “the energy sector of Ukraine was made dependent on Russia.”
According to the prosecutor’s office, Medvedchuk “contributed to the subversive activities of Russia and the terrorist organizations of the DPR and LPR,” in connection with which he is suspected of treason (part 2 of Art. 28, part 1 of Art. 111 of the Criminal Code) and the financing of terrorism (part 2 of Art. 28, part 1 of article 258-3 of the Criminal Code). In this regard, the department will ask the court to arrest the politician with the right to be released on bail of 1 billion hryvnia.
The second defendant in the case was Ukrainian businessman Sergei Kuzyara. “He was looking for coal enterprises, organized a green corridor from Donetsk and Lugansk to the territory controlled by Kiev, their directors for signing documents, opening accounts, registering addresses. He also coordinated the process of loading coal, sending it to another territory, and controlled the payment of cash by the militants for such services, ”- quotes Benedict’s “Play”.
The head of the SBU Ivan Bakanov added that the top leadership of Ukraine of that period was also involved in the scheme for the supply of coal from the DPR and LPR. He did not rule out that in the future, the suspicion will be announced to the ex-president of the country, Petro Poroshenko.
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