Public joint-stock company Ukrtelecom initially was privatized in the interests of Dmytro Firtash and Serhiy Liovochkin, MP Serhiy Leschenko claims.

Leschenko said at a press conference on Thursday that during an investigation conducted by him earlier some evidences of the involvement of these persons in the privatization of the largest telecommunications company in 2011 have appeared. In particular, ESU, which was the only bidder in the tender and eventually acquired Ukrtelecom, two weeks before the tender changed the owner to EPIC Investment.

Leschenko said that later the company was renamed Raga Establishment and as the parliamentarian learnt directors of the company are two citizens of Cyprus Audriana Pias and George Heorhiou. Leschenko revealed that Pias and sister of George Heorhiou – Xenia Heorhiou – are affiliated with the top managers of the companies via which Firtash and Liovochkin own undeclared property on the French Riviera.

Leschenko saw an internal document of SCM holding with description of reputation risks of the holding if it acquires Ukrtelecom.

"In the document Firtash is named as a seller," Leschenko said.

The parliamentarian intends to forward all the documents to the Prosecutor General's Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NAB).

In summer 2015, Leschenko said that Liovochkin and Rinat Akhmetov were involved in the privatization of Ukrtelecom.

Ukraine's State Property Fund in 2011 sold 92.79% of Ukrtelecom's shares to ESU LLC, the Ukrainian subsidiary of Austrian-based EPIC, for UAH 10.575 billion. The deal was closed in May 2011.

SCM Holding and Austria's EPIC Group on October 4, 2013, finalized a deal on the sale and purchase of 100% of the shares in UA Telecominvest Limited, which holds 100% in ESU LLC, which in turn holds 92.79% of the shares in Ukrtelecom.