No grounds currently for applying sanctions against Portnov – Shmyhal
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, in response to the petition, states that there is currently no information on the existence of grounds for applying sanctions to former Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Andriy Portnov.
"The Ministry of Economy, together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the National Police, the State Bureau of Investigations, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Security Service of Ukraine and the Prosecutor General's Office, have been instructed to review the petition and provide the relevant conclusions. Based on the results of processing the said instruction, the Ministry of Economy came to the conclusion that the petition does not contain circumstances that can be considered as grounds for applying sanctions under the law. At the same time, the US decision to apply sanctions is not a basis for applying sanctions as defined by law," Shmyhal said in his response to the petition.
In addition, it is noted that the petition also does not contain information indicating Portnov's terrorist activity within the meaning of the term "terrorist activity" according to the Law on combating terrorism, which can be considered as grounds for applying sanctions.
"It should be noted that the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Police, the Economic Security Bureau, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, and the Security Service of Ukraine informed the Ministry of Economy about the current absence of information on the existence of grounds for applying special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions) to the individual specified in the petition," the response says.
At the same time, the Prime Minister stated that in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, any interested person who has facts that may indicate the commission of a criminal offense has the right to contact law enforcement agencies with a corresponding statement.
As reported, on January 11, a petition on the Cabinet of Ministers website calling for the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) to consider proposals to impose personal sanctions against former Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Andriy Portnov received the necessary number of votes for consideration.