The principle of taking the general seniority of individuals who work in the Interior Ministry into account in police rank seniority has been in effect in about 20 years, a witness in a criminal case opened against former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko has said.
"This practice started with the beginning of Ukraine’s independence and is still in effect," a former chief inspector at the department for the staffing of the Interior Ministry’s central office and the ministry’s staffing department, Yaroslav Usyk, said during his questioning in Kyiv’s Pechersky District Court on Wednesday.
He noted that the documents on the allocation of a pension to the former minister’s driver, Leonid Prystupliuk, had been compiled on the basis of his service record in accordance with relevant regulations.
"There were no violations of law when making pension calculations. I would not have signed [a document on] the illegal years of service," the witness said, adding that he received no instructions from the minister or other persons with respect to Prystupliuk.
The court also questioned on Wednesday one more witness – Olha Shumyk – who in 1995 was appointed as a chief specialist at the unit for the provision of social payments at the Department of Financial Support and Accounting at the Interior Ministry.
When asked whether there were any instructions with respect to Prystupliuk in breach of the law, she said: "No, there were no such instructions."
The court also questioned Natalia Ohnianyk, the head of the department of social security and payments at the Interior Ministry.
After the questioning of three witnesses on Wednesday, the court announced a break in its session until 09.10 on Nov. 24, the press service of the People’s Self-Defense Party reported.
