A bribe case was opened against Trump's enemy in Ukraine
The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office has opened a criminal investigation into the possible bribery of MP Sergei Leshchenko, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
According to SAP, the reason was media publications about Sergei Leshchenko’s purchase of “an elite apartment in the center of the capital with funds allegedly received as an unlawful benefit.”
“According to information published in the media, the people’s deputy systematically received millions in bribes from an entrepreneur for lobbying the business interests of the latter, namely influencing government officials and law enforcement agencies, as well as forming the necessary public opinion in the media space,” states SAP.
In order to verify the facts stated in the publication, prosecutors of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office registered criminal proceedings with preliminary legal qualification of Part 4 of Art. 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The pre-trial investigation was entrusted to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. SAP provides procedural guidance.
In response to this, People’s Deputy Leshchenko himself wrote on his Facebook page: “Two days ago, would-be prosecutor Lutsenko promised me suspicion for the Manafort case (American political strategist Paul Manafort - Ed). Today he announces the opening of a criminal case for receiving a bribe in the form of an apartment. I’m already wondering where his imagination will take him next.”
Leshchenko called on Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko to immediately submit a proposal to the Verkhovna Rada to lift his parliamentary immunity. “Choose for yourself what case - against Manafort, against the apartment, for illegal criticism of the Prosecutor General or his godfather and boss Poroshenko. I'm here and I'm ready to vote. Stop saving yourself in office by creating cheap news stories around me. The story with the apartment already ended two years ago with a court decision, as well as the closure of the proceedings by the prosecutor’s office itself under the article “absence of a crime,” the people’s deputy wrote.
“I am also filing a claim against the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office for the protection of honor and dignity,” Leshchenko wrote and invited journalists to a briefing on Thursday at 16:30 at the central entrance to the Verkhovna Rada.
Let us recall that Trump’s lawyer Rudolfo Giulivni recently canceled his Ukrainian visit, citing the presence of “enemies of Trump and the United States” in Vladimir Zelensky’s team, one of whom was named Leshchenko.
A Ukrainian case has been opened against Trump's enemy for bribery.