Yuliya Tymoshenko Arrested
Speaking at a February 13 press conference Deputy Prosecutor General Mykola Obikhod declared that due to “new circumstances” which had come to light in the Yuliya Tymoshenko’s case, the former vice premier, who had earlier been forbidden to leave Kyiv, was now taken into police custody. Mrs. Tymoshenko is held by police in a Kyiv jail, Interfax- Ukrayina reports. According to Mr. Obikhod, Tymoshenko was accused of giving repeated bribes to former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko and was arrested on the strength of Article 170, part 3 of the Criminal Code.
The amount of the bribe was $79,600,000. Obikhod also announced that Tymoshenko was arrested in the Prosecutor General’s Office after being familiarized with the arrest warrant in the presence of her lawyer. Her lawyer is a member of the Pechersk District Association of Attorneys. The decision to arrest Tymoshenko, Obikhod continued, had been based on the nature of the alleged crime, its possible danger to society, the identity of the accused, and the likelihood the accused might flee to avoid prosecution.
According to an earlier report by the State Tax Administration press service, tax police prosecutors have established the complicity of Ms. Tymoshenko in money laundering and channeling money abroad. The bulk of the $550 million, which had been transferred in Pavlo Lazarenko’s bank accounts, came in bribes from the UESU (United Energy Systems of Ukraine) Corporation of which Ms. Tymoshenko was then president, Interfax-Ukrayina says, citing an STA press service report. The bribes were transferred by Somoli Enterprises Limited, a company founded and owned by the Tymoshenko family.
The list of companies which were set up in 1995 by the Tymoshenko family to launder illegal profits also included Bassington Ltd. and Global Energy International Ltd. Through these entities, the money circulated in their bank accounts without reaching electricity suppliers or the budget. According to the STA press service report, it is astonishing that, against the background of Mrs. Tymoshenko’s statements to oppose the regime she hated and to “fight the battle to the end,” she had been feverishly selling her own property, including the Yuzhkombank (Southern Commercial Bank), which the STA claims belonged to her.
On February 12 the STA said the investigation of the Tymoshenko case will not be subject to any political pressure and will be carried out in a thorough, impartial, and professional way.
Mrs. Tymoshenko’s arrest does not seem to be a timely move by the prosecutors, rather a belated and risky one, as it could seriously aggravate the present political situation causing increasing polarization in society. Although, to look at it from the standpoint of common sense, Ms. Tymoshenko should have taken the trouble to search for evidence to prove her innocence before coming up with any opposition statements.
Otherwise, her opposition stand seems bereft of any real value from the political perspective. Which means that her allies and the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) Party of which she is head are taking big risks. However, the expectations that both parties involved in this case, the state and the opposition, are fully aware of what is at stake could well prove unfounded.
