You're reading: Infrastructure minister Pivovarsky says criminal case opened against him

Ukraine's Infrastructure Minister Andriy Pyvovarsky has said that a criminal case was opened against him, as he has learned from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.

“What I know from the Bureau… a criminal case was opened against me,” Pyvovarsky said at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Economic Policy Committee in Kyiv on Wednesday.

The minister said that the criminal case against him was opened at the request of “MP Denysenko”, however, according to Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, it was only at the committee meeting that Pyvovarsky learned there were three MPs sharing the same surname, namely, independent MPs Andriy and Anatoliy Denysenko and MP of the Petro Poroshenko Block Vadym Denysenko.

Later MP Vadym Denysenko confirmed on his Facebook account that he had actually turned to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau with a request to consider an application of the ministry’s employee who complained about back door salaries.

“A few months ago media wrote about back door salaries which were paid in the Infrastructure Ministry. One could have ignored them, but then ministry’s employee Maksym Buriachok stated that he was quitting his job in the ministry, as he was not willing to accept the practice of illegal salaries (he referred to sums from $2,000 to $10,000). Afterwards, I appealed to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau asking to consider the statement of this particular individual,” the Denysenko wrote.

He also asked the minister not to politicize this case, and not to use it for self-promotion.

As reported, on February 4, 2016, a number of ministers, including Pyvovarsky, withdrew their previously submitted resignations. At the same time, they put forward a number of conditions for their further work in the government.