Bohdan Danylyshyn refuses to disclose his location, but says his not hiding. UNIAN Former Economy Minister Bohdan Danylyshyn refuses to disclose his location, but says his not hiding.

If and when he returns to Ukraine, former Economy Minister Bohdan Danylyshyn stands a strong chance of landing behind bars.

With a criminal case hanging around his neck, he is in line to become the next in a growing list of officials who served in former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s government to be jailed since her rival, President Viktor Yanukovych, took power on Feb. 25.

Ukraine’s general prosecutor launched a criminal case against Dany­lyshyn last month, implicating him in alleged fraud that occurred through the notoriously corrupt State Procurement Service.

This government agency awards lucrative contracts with private and state enterprises to supply goods and services to budget-funded organizations – everything from schools and hospitals to the government itself.

Unable to find Danylyshyn in Ukraine, authorities put in a request to Interpol, the international police organization that specializes in identifying fugitives across the globe, to help detain Danylyshyn.

"I am not afraid of anything. I am currently being medically treated. I don't want any political asylum. I want to live in the country I love and respect, and I want my case to be finally solved."

- Bohdan Danylyshyn.

Danylyshyn’s mug shot under a “Wanted” headline appeared on Interpol’s website in late August.

Ukrainian media reports, citing anonymous sources at the General Prosecutor’s Office, have suggested Danylyshyn was hiding out in Germany, a country which by law would turn him over in cooperation with the Interpol network.

There has been speculation that Danylyshyn could become the first high-ranking Ukrainian official to seek political asylum in countries that have provided it for Russian exiles, such as the United Kingdom and Israel.

Opposition leaders, including Tymoshenko and former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Turchynov, maintain charges brought against their former associates in government are part of a politically motivated witch hunt.

As of Sept. 2, the authorities had not succeeded in catching Danylyshyn, but the Kyiv Post managed to speak with him by telephone. In the interview, Danylyshyn maintained his innocence and declined to reveal his whereabouts, but promised to return to Ukraine when he finishes undergoing medical treatment.

He also said he did not consider the investigation of him to be part of a campaign of political oppression and welcomed moves by Ukraine’s current leadership to clean up the state procurement system.

After this interview was published online at www.kyivpost.com, prosecutors summoned journalist Yuriy Onyshkiv for questioning.


KP: Why are you in hiding? Do you feel guilty or do you regard the charges against you as political repression?

BD: I’m currently receiving medical treatment. In addition, I’ve been on vacation since the beginning of June.


KP: Are you aware that you are wanted by Interpol?

BD: Well, I’m on vacation and have been seeking medical treatment since June for a number of illnesses, as I was advised to do so. I’m seeking treatment where I am currently on vacation.


KP: Can you name the country where you’re presently located? Are you afraid that they will apprehend you there?

BD: I’m not afraid of anything. I’m currently receiving medical treatment. And as for the charges made by the General Prosecutor’s Office, I’d like to say that there were interim regulations [in place] with regard to the conduct of public procurement. And none of the documents about which they are speaking have ever come my way. These documents [in question] went to the Economy Ministry’s front office and were then acknowledged (signed) in receipt by the respective departments responsible for conducting [the procurement] procedures.

The Procurement Department and Legal Department conducted the respective evaluations of certain documents subject to whether they met the conditions for carrying out procurements. Following this, once the directors and ordinary specialists stamped them, these documents were sent to be signed by government officials based on their respectively allocated duties. Therefore, to speak about having contact with persons who conducted procurement [on behalf of the government] I think is pointless and illogical.


KP: Are you referring to public procurement concerning the state enterprise Boryspil or fuel for the army?

BD: I’m talking about procurement overall. I’m not interested in whether this was procurement for the Defense Ministry or other public procurements. I signed all the documents only when all the requisite stamps were on them from the principal specialists of the Economy Ministry. It’s of great importance to me that this adheres to current legislation and current regulations.

I always endeavored to make sure that all the documents which came through the Economy Ministry were meticulously prepared and conformed to current legislation. Also, I’d like to note that when public procurement functions were handed over to the Economy Ministry, I set out the order to immediately cut the number of procedures for one agent. Indeed, this is easy to check. In 2007, when the Tender Chamber existed, a purchase was carried out by one agent for Hr 133 billion or 52.7 percent of all procurements. If in the first quarter of 2008, when a procurement commission worked under parliament, in only two months public procurements were made worth Hr 61.3 billion or 77 percent of all government purchases at a time when the Economy Ministry wasn’t handling public procurements; then starting in April 2008 I managed to substantially reduce the share of these procurements. For example, in the second through the fourth quarters of 2008 these kinds of purchases made up only 21.7 percent (of all government purchases), and in 2009, 28.4 percent.

In these purchases, close to 70 percent were coal purchases in order to set up a state reserve for coal. This is to say that I don’t see any kind of personal involvement or interest in this. And even this question is illogical since I had no direct contact with the bidders.


KP: Who is ultimately responsible for the purchases of which you’re being accused?

BD: I’d like for everyone to understand that the Economy Ministry does not choose bidding procedures. Bidders either announced open bids or submitted the requisite documents to the Economy Ministry. For example, if for Boryspil we had the respective support of the regional development and construction ministry, then how could the Economy Ministry not trust officials from other ministries and government agencies, which, for example, say that this is a procedure which this or that bidder can use. I don’t recall who directly gave backing to a certain [bidding] issue.


KP: That is, you don’t deem the charges against as you as unlawful?

BD: The Economy Ministry couldn’t have given approval to a certain procedure when there weren’t the definite documents that confirmed the legality or illegality of a certain procedure. The respective ministry or government agency always submitted documents pertaining to a particular matter.


KP: And you don’t feel guilty of the charges being pressed against you by the General Prosecutor?

BD: I’d like to say that I commend the new government’s aspiration to bring order to public procurement. I’ve always wanted the same thing. We submitted the draft law On Public Procurement, signed by me personally and Martin Raiser, the World Bank representative for Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. However, parliament was deadlocked and this law wasn’t supported. I’m happy that this law is now in place and that parliament adopted it. Now certain actions can be made. Additionally, when we were working, interim public procurement regulations were in force that changed twice or three times. Thus, the legislation that was supposed to govern the public procurement process was unstable.

I believe that it wasn’t the Economy Ministry themselves that made these purchases. The buyer always set the price and form of purchases and he always carried the responsibility. The Economy Ministry only approved the procedure, not the price. By the way, we’ve always pointed this out. Therefore, as the economy minister I didn’t have grounds to refuse the buyer if all the [requisite] documents were there.


KP: If you feel you’re not guilty, then why not appear in front of investigators at the prosecutor’s office?

BD: When I’m finished being medically treated I’ll come to Ukraine and do everything accordingly.


KP: And when will this be?

BD: This will happen when my doctors allow me to do this based on the state of my health.


KP: Would you please specify what kind of health problems you have?

BD: I have and have had problems with my health.


KP: Do you think the accusations made against you of causing (monetary) damages to the state are political persecution?

BD: I don’t think this is political persecution. I’d like to say that I see it, perhaps, as a matter which requires adequate examination.


KP: You perhaps are aware that investigators, reportedly, opened your BM Bank safe? What do you think they were searching for or what could they have found in it?

BD: Let the investigators deal with this. I’d like to emphasize once more that I didn’t act with any bias and didn’t even see the people who submitted the documents to the Economy Ministry for the conduct of procurement.


KP: Are you exploring the possibility of applying for political asylum abroad?

BD: I don’t want any political asylum. I want to live in one country, the one which I love and respect. I’d like for my case to reach a final conclusion already. I don’t want this procedure to be politicized in any way. I don’t think it is. I’d like for (them) to prove in this case that I had no personal motives that could tie me to a certain [procurement] procedures. I want nothing more.


KP: Have Ukrainian law enforcement authorities contacted you?

BD: When I was leaving for vacation, I did it on legal grounds. No one summoned me anywhere. I didn’t sign any [statement] banning me from leaving [the country]. And I’ve always gone to the prosecutor’s office when I was asked to. I went to the Administration of the Kyiv Transportation Prosecutor’s Office and provided corresponding testimony.


Read Bohdan Danylyshyn's profile.


Kyiv Post staff writer Yuriy Onyshkiv can be reached at onyshkiv@kyivpost.com.

Read also 'Is She Next?'.


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