You're reading: Court bans PGO from investigating Klymenko in absentia

Kyiv's Pechersky district court has not permitted Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) to start the investigation in absentia against former Income and Tax Minister Oleksandr Klymenko.

The copy of the court ruling dated August 11, 2016 was published on Klymenko’s personal website.

According to the document, Prosecutor General’s Office tried to launch an investigation in absentia over the embezzlement of UAH 161 million by the former minister when he ran the post of the head of the State Tax Service of Ukraine. The court established that the Prosecutor General’s Office sent a notification to the following address: Mekhanizatoriv Street, apartment 280 in Kyiv, while Klymenko is registered in apartment 270.

The court said that the former minister has been placed on an Interpol wanted list, but not in this criminal case. The court ruling cannot be appealed.

Earlier Kyiv’s Pechersky district court banned the start of an investigation in February.

As reported, on March 5, 2014 the EU imposed sanctions in the form of an asset freeze against 18 former high rank officials of Ukraine. In April four people were added to the sanctions list, including Klymenko. The sanctions were imposed on the basis of documents provided by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine.

Klymenko has repeatedly refuted allegations made against him, saying they are political in nature.

On June 15, 2016, the press service of Klymenko said the EU court decided to annul sanctions imposed in 2014 against the former minister.