Verkhovna Rada deputy Oles Dovhy has confirmed meeting his colleague MP Oleksandr Onyshchenko in Genoa, Italy and in London, United Kingdom. He said during the meetings he recommended that Onyshchenko and his family cooperate with investigators looking into losses suffered by Ukraine's state budget.

"Onyshchenko is a member of the People's Will group of lawmakers in parliament, the group I am the secretary of. We had a normal, standard relationship as MP colleagues, although, as is known, he rarely attended parliamentary plenary sessions. The story leading up to our conversation began before the Rada vote to strip Onyshchenko of his immunity of prosecution as a parliament deputy. During the session, MPs from our group decided to ring him up in order to learn his position. Onyshchenko asked us not to vote because he considered the charges against him unfounded. Each of us heeded his recommendation on this question. Keeping the deputy group was important to each of us at this time," Dovhy said in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine.

According to Dovhy, he first met Onyshchenko in Italy.

"I was with my family touring Genoa. Onyshchenko called and asked for a meeting … He said lots of things, but I remember that what irked him the most was that his mother was also accused [of wrongdoing]. Namely she was in danger of being sent to jail. A 73-year old woman! He asked for help and advice, inquiring what support our deputy group could give him. I took time to think about whether I would do something that could help him," Dovhy explained.

The second time we met was in London.

"I returned to Ukraine and consulted with lawyers. They gave legal advice about the situation and made recommendations. Onyshchenko called several times and asked, 'Well, what's up? Well, when?" When the legal position was formulated, I flew to London on his advice in order to understand the recommendations of the lawyers. They said Onyshchenko's mother could cut a deal with prosecutors based on her advanced age … I told him the case boiled down to, 'Return the money to the budget so you can sleep peacefully," Dovhy said.

The MP said during the meetings he represented the People's Will parliamentary group, the same as what Onyshchenko said.

Dovhy did not confirm the authenticity of the recordings leaked to media of purported conversations with deputies.

"I have not listened to the snippets and do not intend to, because I remember our conversation and the circumstances perfectly well," Dovhy said.

Ukraine's parliament during the summer of 2016 voted to strip Onyshchenko of his immunity and gave permission for his arrest. The MP failed to appear in the parliament chamber. He earlier said he had not intention to return to Ukraine because he had been set up and, "They decided to whatever it took [against me]."

Head of Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) has said Onyshchenko, as the beneficiary of companies operating under Ukrgazvydobuvannia organized a criminal group with the aim of embezzling funds of the company.