Portnov’s confession: Poroshenko’s cases are being investigated only under media pressure
Ukrainian law enforcement agencies are doing nothing to investigate the financial crimes of Poroshenko and his team, and unless pressure is put on them through public appeals, nothing will be investigated. Lawyer Andriy Portnov stated this on the 112 Ukraine television channel, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“The Prosecutor General and the State Bureau of Investigation started the investigation into the Poroshenko case from scratch. And only after I publicly demanded to start an investigation into Poroshenko’s offshore transactions, I myself obtained information that there was huge money in Luxembourg after this transaction for laundering criminal proceeds, only after that this led to the arrest of these funds. What would have happened if I had not contacted the investigators with this information? What would have happened if there had been no social pressure, if I had not talked about it on TV 10 times?
Further. An international investment bank, where it was discovered that $34 million in cash had been withdrawn by Poroshenko’s first assistant, Onishchenko, in May-June of this year. I showed it every day. What would have happened if I had not made this information public? And wouldn’t you start telling it on TV? They wouldn’t have come there with searches, they wouldn’t have registered criminal proceedings before that, and they wouldn’t have seized evidence. There is a direct cause-and-effect relationship between public pressure on law enforcement agencies and their work,” he said.
The Verkhovna Rada voted on the Law on Combating Money Laundering and Legalization of Criminal Proceeds, the adoption of which was insisted by international organizations and the adoption of which is part of Ukraine’s obligations. But during the voting, Poroshenko’s party “European Solidarity” opposed this law and it was adopted contrary to the position of “European integrators.” Portnov explains this by saying that the law makes it easier to find offshore funds and transfer cash.
“From the International Investment Bank, which Poroshenko transferred to his son last week, in May-June he took out 340 kilograms of cash. This law would not allow this. this law allows you to determine the ultimate beneficiaries of offshore companies. Is it because you yourself are the owners of these offshore companies that you did not vote for some of the main laws against corruption and money laundering?
Therefore, on the one hand, we observe complete inaction of the Prosecutor General’s Office, on the other hand, they have already begun to cover up the crimes of the former president. In any case, we are talking about assets stolen from the state. What prevents you from starting the confiscation of stolen funds? Will they be extra in the budget? What did Prosecutor General Ryaboshapka do? Complete inaction. It covers the facts of theft of funds from our state,” the lawyer noted.
Portnov's confession : Poroshenko's cases are being investigated only under pressure from the media.