[ad_1]
Tatarov held a position in the Interior Ministry during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych (Photo: channel 24)
Oleg Tatarov, a MP for Andrei Yermak, is indicted in a corruption investigation and, according to the law, should not hold such a high position in the President’s Office.
ABOUT fiscal president (WHOP) Vladimir Zelensky found himself at the epicenter of a true detective story. The scandalous remarks by OP Deputy Chief Andrei Yermak Oleg Tatarov unexpectedly jeopardized the high-profile anti-corruption case, negotiations with the IMF on the tranche, and the reputation of the president himself. After Tatarov’s statement, a web of corruption ties began to develop, leading directly to Bankovaya.
It all started with the fact that on November 28 Tatarov, who since August has been responsible for the law enforcement sector and in part for fighting corruption, in the context of negotiations between official Kiev and the IMF, which requires NABU guarantees of independence, made a strong statement. “NABU is not a story of Ukraine, which, unfortunately, is outside our country,” Yermak’s deputy told Zakon i Biznes, commenting on the cabinet’s decision to legislate the powers of Artem Sytnyk to continue serving as director of NABU. “Various legislative initiatives can be proposed, but the root of the problems in the state’s anti-corruption policy is precisely Artem Sytnik.” Sytnik must go, Tatarov added. Although two weeks ago the president assured the G7 ambassadors that he would guarantee the preservation of the position of director of the NABU despite the decision of the Constitutional Court.
On the same day, November 28, another event took place in which Tatarov appeared. Although it would be more correct to say that it did not happen. According to journalist Yuri Butusov, referring to its own sources in law enforcement agencies, NABU was preparing to hand over to Tatarov the suspicion of involvement in a corruption offense. But only the prosecutors appealed to the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court (WAX) to get permission to search from the vice president of the OP, how information about his plans instantly reached the Office of the President. No permission was given for the searches.
High-rise buildings, bribes, and a senior official: a lawyer for a corrupt official
Tatarov’s story is like a true detective story. We are talking about the case of developer Maksim Mikitas, whom NABU accuses of corruption. According to the Office’s estimates, 4 years ago, Mikitas Ukrbud’s company, in collusion with the then commander of the National Guard, Colonel General Yuriy Allerov, closed the deal. On the territory of a former military unit in the center of the capital in Pechersk, Ukrbud was supposed to build high-rise buildings in exchange for 50 apartments for the National Guard. But the latter did not settle in the elite of Pechersk, but in the distant outskirts. And the elite apartments were sold. The state, according to NABU estimates, was cheated out of 81 million UAH.
Now Mikitashu is facing jail time for this and in exchange for a mitigation of punishment, he allegedly made a deal with the investigation and began turning over everyone who helped him change the deal. One of them, according to Butusov, was Tatarov, who, before being appointed to the OP, acted as Ukrbud’s lawyer. Through him, bribes were allegedly transferred from the developer, including one of the VACS judges, Sergei Moisak, for the fact that he assigned the minimum bond to Mikitas, who was detained in this case. In 2019, Moisak chose a bail of 5.5 million UAH as a preventive measure, a ridiculous amount compared to the 81 million UAH in losses suffered. This decision angered even President Zelensky, and after the publicity, the bail was increased. Mikitas himself has now admitted all of this, says Butusov.
Then prosecutors went to VAKS for permission to search Tatarov, the appeal went to Judge Moisak, and immediately there was a leak of information, Yermak’s deputy made his scandalous statement about Sytnik, and the OP began to make excuses. “The statement of the deputy head of the office of President Oleg Tatarov on the activities of the NABU is his personal opinion and does not reflect the official position of the president,” the OP’s press service said on November 29.
Butusov states: Despite these public statements and the president’s constant assurances of his zero tolerance for corruption, another solution was found in Bankova. “The president’s office has decided to defend Tatarov,” says Butusov. – Follow what will happen now in the Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office.
