Detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) have revealed a group of persons acting under the shelter of people with attorney certificates during the pretrial investigation into operations of a criminal group created by MP Oleksandr Onyschenko implicated in the embezzlement of funds of public joint-stock company Ukrgazvydobuvannia, NABU Director Artem Sytnyk has reported.
“These persons using guarantees provided to them in the law on defense attorneys and attorney operations registered fake businessmen and accompanied their unlawful operations aimed at converting cash received from the sale of natural gas extracted as part of joint ventures with Ukrgazvydobuvannia. According to the report, attorneys A.Tsyhankov, O.Kopus and V.Makovsky were involved in this. NABU is examining other persons, including attorneys, if they are implicated in the crime,” reads the report posted on the NABU’s press service website.
Of these three attorneys, at whose place of residence and work searches were conducted, only lawyer Tsyhankov represented the interests of those suspected of the so called “Onyschenko case.” During the pre-trial investigation it was found out that the direct management of funds, obtained as a result of criminal activity on the resale of public gas, was made from his office.
“Tsyhankov, abusing attorney guarantees provided by law, transferred funds from the accounts of fictitious companies to his own accounts,” reads the report.
