You're reading: Prosecutors drop tax case against TVi

 Oops, sorry, made a mistake. Never mind.

That’s
essentially what Ukraine’s general prosecutor said after closing a criminal case
into alleged tax evasion against Mykola Kniazhytsky,
head of the independent TVi channel.

According to the
statement by the general prosecutor’ press service on July 27, an internal
investigation found a lack of evidence for opening the case. Kniazhytsky had been accused of deliberately evading payment of Hr 3
million (or $375,0000) in taxes.  

Kniazhytsky
says he learned about the case close from news media and does not have official
notification from the prosecutors.

“My
lawyer is trying to get the official notice of the closing of the case,”
Kniazhytsky says. “Until this happens, I prefer to not comment it.”

The
case provoked outrage, considering that Kniazhytsky said that TVi had obtained
a court ruling in its favor on the tax issue.

Many,
including Kniazhytsky, believe the investigation was launched to harass and
shut down TVi, whose journalists have produced some of the nation’s most
respected and critical investigative journalism s.

After
the public uproar, President Viktor Yanukovych expressed his concern over the
TVi case and asked the general prosecutor to review the lawfulness of the case.

The
closing of the tax case, however, does not solve all of TVi’s troubles.

On
July 20, the channel was kicked out of major cable network Triolan in 11
cities, including Kyiv, significantly shrinking its already small broadcasting
radius. TVi was replaced by Bank TV, the National Bank of Ukraine’s
taxpayer-financed channel. 

Triolan
has also switched off local Simon channel, which used to broadcast many of TVi
programs in Kharkiv Oblast.

Kyiv Post staff writer Svitlana
Tuchynska can be reached at [email protected].