Ukrainian deputies announced "war" to prosecutor, startling of lifting of immunity
Head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) Nazar Kholodnytsky has announced the launch of an investigation into allegations of tax evasion made by Radical Party leader Oleh Liashko against Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko, according to an UNIAN correspondent.
"SAPO has responded to statements made by the Radical Party's leader [when parliament was] considering a motion [to strip a Radical Party member of parliamentary immunity]. And we've included information of his testimony on two counts in the State Register of Pretrial Investigations for opening criminal cases regarding the announced facts," Kholodnytsky said in Kyiv on Tuesday, July 11. In his words, Liashko's applications were considered, criminal proceedings began and the investigation will be carried out.
In addition, Kholodnytsky said that SAPO had not closed a case against MP from the Radical Party Andriy Lozovoy, which was announced by the lawmaker himself in parliament on Tuesday. Earlier on that day, Liashko brought accusations against Lutsenko in parliament, alleging that the Prosecutor General had evaded payments of tax. Liashko called on Lutsenko to pay taxes, including for a 900-square-meter house.
Ukrainian parliamentarians considered the motion submitted by the Prosecutor General's Office for making Lozovoy liable, but they lacked votes to adopt it. Lutsenko said that checks conducted by SAPO and the State Fiscal Service had revealed that Lozovoy did not mention assets worth over UAH 8.5 million in his e-declaration, as a result of which he did not pay UAH 1.717 million due to be transferred to the budget along with UAH 129,329 in war tax.
Source: UNIAN