BONDAR RELEASED ON HEALTH GROUNDS

On April 6, the Kyiv Prosecution Office released from custody Volodymyr Bondar, former first deputy chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine Board of Governors, under a written pledge to stay in town.

Interfax-Ukraine quotes Kyiv city prosecutors as saying the decision to opt for non-custodial treatment was made due to “abrupt deterioration of Mr. Bondar’s health and the necessity for inpatient treatment.” “On Thursday, he was moved from the pretrial detention center to the Kyiv Research Clinic of Emergency Medical Aid and Disaster-Related Medicine,” a press agency representative announced. According to him, last Thursday a medical-legal expert commission diagnosed Mr. Bondar as suffering from second-degree hypertonia and a hypertonic attack. The experts concluded he needed inpatient medical treatment.

It will be recalled that Mr. Bondar is being accused of “knowingly signing a losing agreement” with the Cyprus branch of the Credit Suisse First Boston Bank to place there $75 million in gold and hard-currency reserves of Ukraine, thus inflicting over $5 million in material losses on the state. Premier Viktor Yushchenko and Minister of Finance Ihor Mitiukov are expected to be questioned as witnesses in the case.