Ukrainian Member of Parliament, businessman Vadym Stolar, who is implicated in operation "Themis" regarding corruption schemes involving former Deputy Head of the President's Office Iryna Mudra and former Member of Parliament Maksym Mykytas, announced his return to Ukraine.
"I am in Ukraine. Today, I arrived in person and voluntarily in response to a court summons to participate in the hearing on a motion to impose a preventive measure against me. I believe this fact best demonstrates my attitude toward these proceedings: I have no intention of going into hiding, evading the investigation, or obstructing the criminal proceedings in any way," Stolar said on his Telegram channel.
He expressed his conviction that the investigation will establish that there are no signs of criminal offenses in his actions.
As previously reported, on August 19, NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) released a video regarding a special operation titled "Forrest Gump:" individuals who laundered UAH 150 million to pay bail for a suspect in the Midas case were exposed and charged. The group included, among others, the deputy head of the President's Office of Ukraine and a former member of parliament.
On August 20, NABU and the SAPO released a second video regarding corruption involving the same high-ranking officials, titled "Themis" – exposing the illegal seizure of real estate and corporate assets through document forgery.
In the Themis case involving the illegal seizure of real estate, Stolar has been notified of the charges against him in absentia. He is charged with the same criminal offenses as the other figures involved in the corruption scheme, with the exception of the episode involving the laundering of funds to post bail for a suspect in the Midas case (Article 209 of the Criminal Code).
On September 11, the High Anti-Corruption Court set a bail of UAH 300 million for Stolar.
