Fugitive Ihor Bakay “Mistakenly” Released from Custody in Russia

The reasons why the Russian uniformed services released Ihor Bakay, the wanted former chief of Ukraine’s state property management authority under President Kuchma, from custody remain unknown. This runs counter to treaties and conventions to which Russia and Ukraine are party, Ukrainian Interpol director Kyrylo Kulykov told a briefing in Kyiv yesterday. As he put it, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is currently preparing to submit a report on the circumstances of Bakay’s arrest to Ukraine’s General Prosecutor Sviatoslav Piskun, who will in turn submit an official inquiry to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Ustinov. “I consider this [release of Ihor Bakay from custody by the Russian uniformed services] an unfortunate mistake,” Kulykov said, adding: “I do not think it is a question of politics. It is a matter of negligence.” According to the Interpol director, inquiries have been sent out to the Russian Internal Affairs Ministry and General Prosecutor’s Office with a request to conduct an investigation and punish those responsible for letting Bakay off the hook. He further pointed out that “Ihor Bakay has not been registered with the Federal Migration Service of Russia, which means that he is not a citizen of Russia.” Kulykov said it was official information. “We are working [to have Bakay arrested and extradited to Ukraine], and I assure you that we will accomplish this,” the Ukrainian Interpol director stressed. Kulykov also made it known that the Ukrainian Interpol does not know the whereabouts of the two other most wanted fugitives: former chief of the Internal Affairs Ministry’s criminal surveillance department General Oleksiy Pukach and former Sumy Oblast Administration chairman Volodymyr Shcherban.