Crimean PGO records 119 cases in pretrial investigation register, loss from illegal 'nationalization' exceeds UAH 50 bln
Public Prosecutor's Office of Crimea, which is located in Kyiv due to the annexation of the peninsular by Russia, has recorded 119 criminal proceedings in the pretrial investigation register, Senior Counselor of Justice and acting Public Prosecutor of Crimea Nazar Kholodnytsky has said.
"Actually Public Prosecutor's Office of Crimea started operating [in Kyiv] in October 2014. Over the period, we sent information on 119 crimes to the pretrial investigation register. These are various crimes: kidnapping and illegal imprisonment," he said at a press conference on the results of the work of Public Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine to protect rights and freedoms of citizens on the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine for the period of H1 2015 in Kyiv on Thursday.
Kholodnytsky also said that Public Prosecutor's Office of Crimea has started investigating into facts of embezzlement of Ukrainian property in Crimea.
"We've opened several criminal cases against the embezzlement of property that belongs to Ukraine. These are cases against illegal nationalization by self-proclaimed authorities… We've opened over 20 [criminal cases]… We're specifying the exact sum of losses, but now we can say that the sum would exceed [UAH] 50 billion," he said.
He said that pretrial investigation into facts of embezzlement of property of Massandra agrarian center and Artek international children's center is underway.
Kholodnytsky also said that Public Prosecutor's Office of Crimea faces difficulties.
"We have most of cases regarding high treason, and we permanently receive information on the movement of suspected lawmakers [of the Supreme Council of Crimea] in Europe, although international institutions believe that the cases are politically motivated and do not allow us to put them on a wanted list," he said.
He said that at present, Public Prosecutor's Office of Crimea jointly with the Interior Ministry and Justice Ministry of Ukraine are looking for ways to resolve these problems.
Kholodnytsky said that it is hard to investigate without having access to the territory of the annexed peninsula.
