It is wrong to look for political motives in the actions of law enforcement agencies, because political assessments amount to interference in an investigation and go beyond the law. Serhiy Demchenko, a MP from the Servant of the People faction and a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy, told LB.ua in a comment.
“Everything must be done according to the law. Above all, we must not look for any political motives in one action or another by law enforcement agencies. By doing so, if we start making political assessments, we exert influence on the relevant law enforcement bodies, and that is, in my view, beyond the law,” the MP said.
“We must provide and create all the conditions for them so that they can respond as quickly and objectively as possible in accordance with current legislation. And that is what I expect from all of them,” he added.
On the legal side of the situation, Demchenko noted: “As a lawyer, I can say that a notice of suspicion signed at a time when the Prosecutor General has valid powers is not cancelled by the dismissal of the office-holder. There are no legal grounds for that, so if it exists in reality, it will continue to be in force.”
As for the procedure, the MP explained that announcing and serving a notice of suspicion must happen at the same time. “Announcing and serving are actions that in fact must coincide in time. That is, a person is notified of suspicion by being served the notice of suspicion,” Demchenko said.
Commenting on NABU’s statement that Kryvonos had not been served with the notice of suspicion, he said:
“There are different procedural ways of serving a notice of suspicion. They are set out directly in the Criminal Procedure Code. Either personally to the individual, or it is sent by post to the enterprise, and so on.”
Asked about the possible consequences of the standoff between the Prosecutor General’s Office and NABU, Demchenko replied: “I am a man of the law. I believe that if a person’s actions show signs of a criminal offence, that person must be held accountable. And this must happen as quickly as possible in any case. All the more so if it concerns senior officials in law enforcement agencies. Therefore, I expect swift results from the relevant investigations and the holding to account of those responsible, or a refutation that the actions of the relevant individuals contain signs of a criminal offence.”
Context
This morning, Kravchenko published a seven-minute video address in which he accused NABU and the SAPO of gaining access to materials relating to employees of those bodies. According to him, they allegedly obtained these materials during searches of the Prosecutor General’s Office premises in the “Carthage” case, which concerns the exposure in the Prosecutor General’s Office of a criminal organisation that covered up illegal call centres and laundered the money obtained from them. He also said he had signed a notice of suspicion for NABU Director Semen Kryvonos and for a person close to the head of the SAPO.
The Bureau responded that as of the morning, Kryvonos had not received the notice of suspicion. Kravchenko said it had been sent by post.
After the Prosecutor General’s statements, the President urged MPs to consider the issue of Ruslan Kravchenko’s dismissal as quickly as possible. The consideration will take place tomorrow; the submission to the President has already been sent.
Ruslan Kravchenko left the country under the pretext of a business trip on the night before the publication of the video with the accusations.
The main suspect in the “Carthage” case is Serhiy Kropyva, the head of one of the departments. Kravchenko spoke with him repeatedly, according to the investigation materials.
After NABU published information about the exposure, Kravchenko told journalists that he did not plan to resign. However, that same evening he had a meeting with the President, after which he submitted his resignation letter.