Sherban's son ready to prove Tymoshenko's, Lazarenko's involvement in his father's killing

Donetsk Regional Council Deputy Ruslan Scherban has said that he can prove former Ukrainian Prime Ministers Yulia Tymoshenko and Pavlo Lazarenko were involved in the killing of his father, MP Yevhen Scherban, in 1996, the Ostrov Internet publication has reported. Scherban has sent a respective letter to U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Tefft.

"Many times I was personally present during business negotiations between my father and Tymoshenko and Lazarenko. They constantly demanded that my father sacrifice his business interests for the sake of the UESU company's interests, repeatedly threatening him with death. This fact is known to many other people," the publication cited his letter.

"He [Yevhen Scherban] refused to give away his business to Tymoshenko, despite threats, including from then Ukrainian Prime Minister Lazarenko," Scherban said.

He said Lazarenko at that time was obliged to repay a debt of $50 million to his father, but that he had not done so.

Scherban explained his long silence on this matter due to the fact that Lazarenko and Tymoshenko were at liberty and held high public posts.

However, he said he was surprised at the reaction of the international community on this issue.

"It seems that some politicians are trying to protect the killers from justice, otherwise, it is impossible to explain the endless ultimatums being issued to the Ukrainian government to release Yulia Tymoshenko from prison. In addition, as far as I know, the U.S. government is blocking attempts by Ukrainian law enforcement agencies to conduct the necessary investigative actions with these individuals in the United States," Scherban said.

The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine was not available for comment in this regard.

As reported, a member of the executive committee of the Liberal Party, MP Yevhen Scherban, was shot dead at Donetsk Airport on November 4, 1996. Law enforcement authorities excluded a political scenario behind the murder and considered a criminal scenario to be the main one.

First Deputy Prosecutor General Renat Kuzmin said late in October 2011 that the investigation into the case on those who ordered Scherban's murder was underway and that reports about Tymoshenko's possible involvement in this should be thoroughly checked.

"We have documents from U.S. prosecutor’s office confirming this scenario. And these reports should be checked," he said.

On April 2, 2012, Kuzmin said that Scherban's killers got the money from firms that were controlled by former Prime Ministers Lazarenko and Tymoshenko, who headed the UESU corporation.

At the same time, Tymoshenko’s defense lawyer, Serhiy Vlasenko, believes that the new charges brought against the former prime minister are groundless "propaganda" designed "to blacken Tymoshenko’s name." He also described as "absurd" reports about Tymoshenko’s alleged involvement in Scherban’s killing.