You're reading: PGO issues notice of suspicion to ex deputy head of Yanukovych administration

A notice of suspicion has been given to ex Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine and current deputy of Sumy regional council Yuriy Chmyr. The notice was signed by the head of the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) of Ukraine’s office in Sumy region, according to PGO spokeswoman Larysa Sarhan.

“PGO chief in Sumy region Vitaliy Matviychuk signed the notice accusing Chmyr of hiding his passport, forgery and using forged official documents, as well as making false declarations,” Sarhan said on her Facebook page on July 21.

According to Sarhan’s post, after disgraced ex President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych fled Ukraine [in February 2014] Chmyr said his passport was lost and received a new one. The old passport, meanwhile, he used in notarized dealings. In addition, he did not declare his daughter as a family member and did not declare her assets.

“Realizing that significant real estate assets in his daughter’s name would create a public stir and negatively reflect on his political image, the official did not declare her as a family member and did not include her in his declaration, this despite the fact that investigators established that his daughter lived with him and was part of the family. [Chmyr’s] declaration did not indicate nine apartments, three parking spaces in Kyiv, income from real estate sales and corporate rights to liability companies [under his daughter’s name]. Chmyr’s 20-year old unemployed daughter is the owner of real estate with an estimated value of around Hr 40 million,” Sarhan said.

Chmyr is suspected of violating Part 1 of Article 357 (deliberate concealment of an official document), Part 1 of Article 358 (forgery and use of a forged document) and Article 3661 (false declaration of information) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

“The ex official failed to appear in Kyiv for questioning after being summoned by the Sumy region PGO’s office.

In February 8, Ukraine’s PGO said Chmyr, who from December 2013 worked as deputy head of the Presidential Administration, as well as head of Sumy region’s Party of Regions, may have participated in the organization of the violent break-up of protests in Kyiv during February 2014.

The pretrial investigation established that the former deputy head of the Presidential Administration dealing with humanitarian affairs helped organize the violent break-up of the anti-presidential demonstrations in Kyiv on February 18 and February 19, 2014. Investigators noted Chmyr’s use of a cell phone with a subscription to the private stock company MTS Ukraine.

Prosecutors received court permission to access information and documents belonging to MTS Ukraine, including Chmyr’s telephone conversations during this period.

PGO chief Yuriy Lutsenko on July 7 said agents found more than $1 million cash in two bank safe deposit boxes belonging to Chmyr, more than $500,000 more than $572,000 he had officially declared.