PGO seeking to destroy legal currency exchange market – Absolute Finance lawyer

KYIV. April 7 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office is attempting to destroy the legal currency exchange market. State prosecutors initiated around 30 searches at the Absolute Finance financial company, which puts at risk its operations, a lawyer of the company, Mykola Pavlenko, has said.

"Pursuing selfish motives and cracking down on shadow sector in order to later control it, the PGOis destroying the basis of financial stability in Ukraine," he said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.

The lawyer said that any sabotage of the operation of the financial company causes a domino effect: speculative demand on foreign currency is formed, panic among people is encouraged.

The PGO initiated the searches under a report. The office did not verify credibility of information.

Pavlenko said that PGO's office registered a criminal case against Absolute Finance on launched a pre-trial investigation on April 24, 2015. The motive of the pre-trial investigation was pension tax evasion by the company's officials.

The searches in the company are at the stage of organization. According to preliminary data, regional and Kyiv city divisions of the police are involved.

"In general Absolute Finance is expecting up to 300 'guests,' maybe more," Pavlenko said.

Absolute Finance Director General Eduard Didenko said that the company paid around UAH 42 million of taxes in 2015, including some UAH 20 million to the Pension Fund.

Absolute Finance's core business is retail currency trade. It has over 1,700 currency exchange departments all over Ukraine, including 400 in Kyiv city.