Serhiy Klyuyev, a member of parliament and ally of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, has been put on an international wanted list, Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin said on June 9.
The announcement was made after Klyuyev, who is accused of fraud and embezzlement, reportedly fled abroad after being stripped of parliamentary immunity. Ukrainian authorities have faced intense criticism for failing to arrest him and prevent his flight.
Critics say that the situation highlights a lack of progress in corruption cases against former Yanukovych allies, none of which has been sent to court so far.
Serhiy Klyuyev is a multimillionaire who, in September 2013, was the nominal owner of Mezhyhirya – the palatial 140-hectare, billion-dollar estate that Yanukovych occupied during his presidency. Authorities say the ex-president took over the property via a series of illegal transactions. Prosecutors accuse Serhiy Klyuyev of fraud, misappropriation of property, and abuse of power. Before disappearing, Klyuyev denied any wrongdoing.
A notice that Klyuyev was wanted initially appeared on the Interior Ministry’s website on June 8 but subsequently disappeared.
Vasil Vovk, head of the Security Service of Ukraine main investigative department, said on the same day that Klyuyev had been put on the ministry’s wanted list by mistake.
Pavlo Zhebrivsky, who heads the anti-corruption department of the Prosecutor General’s Office, said that Klyuyev was not wanted yet. Zhebrivsky also said that the office would soon file a notice of suspicion for Klyuyev but did not know anything about his whereabouts.
Klyuyev’s lawyers said on June 8 that he was on sick leave and would go to the Prosecutor General’s Office for an interrogation later on that day, Serhiy Leshchenko, a member of parliament, said in a Facebook post. Subsequently Leshchenko wrote that Klyuyev had not shown up for the interrogation.
“Tomorrow the Prosecutor General’s Office will prepare a request for the Verkhovna Rada to allow Klyuyev’s arrest,” he wrote, referring to an arrest in absentia.
The Verkhovna Rada allowed the Prosecutor General’s Office to prosecute Klyuyev on June 3 but the prosecutors have been lambasted for failing to ask the parliament’s permission to arrest him.
A high-ranking official of the Prosecutor General’s Office who is not authorized to speak to the press told the Kyiv Post that the prosecutors had not sought Klyuyev’s arrest initially because he was being prosecuted under an article that allows bail.
Leshchenko also mentioned this on his Facebook.
Andriy Demartino, head of the office’s press department, said he could not comment on the issue.
Daryna Kalenyuk, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, disagreed with the prosecutors’ logic.
She said that prosecutors had made a major mistake by not asking the parliament to allow Klyuyev’s arrest.
“Shokin was not prepared to prosecute Klyueyv,” she said by phone. “(The prosecution) started due to pressure from the European Union and society.”
She said some progress in corruption cases had been made since Shokin took over as prosecutor general in February but real change would happen only when economic cases against Yanukovych allies start getting sent to court.
On June 5, the EU helped Ukrainian authorities by extending sanctions against Klyuyev, former Justice Minister Olena Lukash and former Education and Science Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk until Oct. 6.
Serhiy Klyuev, a Donetsk native and a businessman, could not be reached by phone. He is the brother of former presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Klyuev, who is wanted in Ukraine for alleged embezzlement and participation in a crackdown on EuroMaidan protesters in November 2013.
Kyiv Post staff writer Oleg Sukhov can be reached at [email protected]
