Indictment in Skhidny Mining, Energoatom's funds embezzlement case sent to court
The indictment in the criminal proceedings related to the embezzlement of funds of state-owned enterprise Skhidny Mining and Processing Combine and National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom (among suspects is former Ukrainian MP and former chairman of the Verkhovna Rada committee on fuel and energy complex Mykola Martynenko) has been sent to court, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) has reported.
"The SAPO after the pretrial investigation of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) sent the indictment accusing former MP Martynenko, S. Pereloma, R. Zhurylo, O. Sorokin, V. Bohdanets and V. Vasylkov of committing crimes under Part 5 of Article 191 (misappropriation, embezzlement or conversion or property by malversation), Part 3 of Article 209 (legalization (laundering) of criminally obtained money and other property) and Part 1 of Article 255 (creation of a criminal organization) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," SAPO wrote on its Facebook page.
Martynenko and Valeriy Vasylkov are accused of embezzling funds of Energoatom when they signed contracts to supply equipment from Czech Skoda JS and implemented them and the contract signed between Skoda JS and Bradcrest Investments SA for EUR 6.4 million.
In addition, Martynenko, Serhiy Pereloma, Ruslan Zhurylo, Oleksandr Sorokin and Volodymyr Bohdanets are accused of embezzling funds of Skhidny Mining in the amount of $17.28 million via the signing of a contract to sell uranium concentrate of Skhidny Mining via Austria's intermediary Steuermann Investitions- und Handelsgesellschaft mbH, which is under control of the members of the criminal group.
SAPO said that the pretrial investigation against other suspects is underway. Four persons have been placed on the wanted list, including two citizens of Austria. One suspect hiding from SAPO was detained.
The press service of former MP Martynenko on Tuesday spread its statement where Martynenko claimed that NABU and SAPO sent the case to court only under the pressure of Martynenko.
"NABU and SAPO, in violation of the law, were playing for time and did not want to file the case where my name appears to court. They were unpleasantly surprised when they saw the materials of my defense - data from independent experts and other documents (including from abroad), which refute the advertised charges against me. They began to play for time and frantically tried to do something in their favor. NABU began to pressure the independent auditor and seized documents from it. They tried to attach some backdated papers to the case," the ex-MP said.
"I'm waiting for a court hearing where I refute the accusations. Sooner or later all those involved in the fabrication will be liable for the crime. The case against the chief detective of NABU Kaluzhynsky is just the first bell for Mr. Sytnyk and all others involved in discrediting my name," Martynenko said.
As reported, NABU detectives started the investigation into the embezzlement of Energoatom's funds worth EUR 6.4 million in December 2015. On October 25, 2017, the former MP was notified about the suspicion as part of this proceeding under Part 5, Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misappropriation, embezzlement or possession of property through abuse of office).
The investigation into the embezzlement of Skhidny Mining's funds worth $17.28 million was also launched in December 2015. On April 20, 2017, the ex-MP and former chairman of the parliamentary committee on fuel and energy complex was notified of the suspicion in committing crimes under Part 3, Article 27, Part 4, Article 28, Part 5, Article 191 and Part 1, Article 255 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (organizing the large-scale embezzlement by a criminal organization of someone else's property through abuse of office, creating a criminal organization for the purpose of committing particularly serious crimes, running such an organization, participating in it and in crimes committed by such an organization).
In November 2017, the procedural leader, SAPO prosecutor, decided to merge the two criminal proceedings into one. Eleven persons have currently been declared suspects in this joint criminal proceeding, and five of them were placed on the wanted list.
In this proceeding, the issue concerns former People's Front MP Martynenko, who, at the beginning of the work of the current Verkhovna Rada, headed the committee on fuel and energy complex.
On November 30, 2015, Martynenko reported the abdication of his deputy powers due to the corruption scandal around him and, according to him, an "information campaign" against him. On December 1, he registered a respective statement in the Verkhovna Rada. On December 22, 2015, the parliament adopted a draft resolution on the abdication of his deputy powers.
On April 20, 2017, NABU detectives and SAPO prosecutors detained Martynenko and First Deputy CEO of Naftogaz Ukrainy Serhiy Pereloma on suspicion of committing crimes under Part 1, Article 255 (the creation of a criminal organization) and Part 5, Article 191 (misappropriation, embezzlement of property or possession of it through abuse of office) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
On April 24, 2017, Judge of the Solomiansky District Court of Kyiv Oleksandr Bobrovnyk refused to arrest Martynenko with the alternative to post UAH 300 million and released him under on personal recognizance of a number of people's deputies.
NABU detectives in January 2018 on the instructions of the SAPO prosecutor opened for former Ukrainian MP and former chairman of the Verkhovna Rada committee on fuel and energy complex Mykola Martynenko and his lawyers the access to criminal materials on the embezzlement of the funds of Skhidny Mining and Processing Combine and Energoatom.