Upon a motion of the senior investigator of the National Police of Ukraine, an investigation regarding former MP from the Party of Regions Mykola Levchenko was closed and he was removed from the wanted list, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) press center told Interfax-Ukraine.

"As for the return to Ukraine of former MP Mykola Levchenko, this is due to the fact that in 2021, upon the motion of the senior investigator of the National Police, the investigation against him was closed, and Levchenko was removed from the wanted list," the service said.

The SBU recalled that in relation to this person, the service in 2014 began criminal proceedings on the grounds of committing a crime under Part 2 of Article 110 and Part 3 of Article 161 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, violation of the equality of citizens depending on their race, nationality, religious beliefs, disability and other grounds).

In 2015, he was informed of the suspicion, and Kyiv Court of Appeal gave permission for his detention.

"However, subsequently, the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine transferred the proceedings to the investigators of the National Police. The procedural head of the case in April 2020 decided to close the criminal proceedings against Levchenko, and in February of this year, the investigators of the National Police decided to close the criminal proceedings altogether. At the same time, the Security Service of Ukraine defends the position that persons who by their actions contributed to the aggressor country should be punished within the framework of the law. The SBU will continue to work in this direction," the SBU said.

Earlier, lawyer of the former MP Oleh Kurchyn said that Levchenko had won the case against Ukraine in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).