Authorities search office of Poroshenko-controlled television network

Law enforcement
authorities conducted searches on Nov. 7 of the office of Volodymyr Makeyenko,
the formal owner of the Priamiy television network, in a criminal case of tax
evasion when he acquired the broadcaster, according to the State Bureau of
Investigations. The search warrant was granted by a court, though authorities
declined to offer any specifics, the pravda.com.ua news site reported, citing
officials at the network. They accused the government of “pressure and an
assault” on freedom of the press. The true owner of Priamiy is widely
acknowledged to be former President Poroshenko. The network practically served
as his mouthpiece during his presidency and the months afterwards.

Poroshenko called
upon Zelensky to interfere personally with the searches of the television
network in a statement released that day. “Searches and arrests of accounts are
attempts to halt the broadcast of any channel,” Poroshenko said. “This is not
the channel’s problem and not some isolated incident. This is a problem with Ukraine
on the whole and the country’s European choice because this definitely has
nothing in common with European rules, nor with European values.”

Petro Poroshenko has
begun to transfer ownership in Roshen Corp, Ukraine’s largest confectionary
producer, to his eldest son Oleksiy Poroshenko, reported the nv.ua news site,
citing the company’s press service. “Regarding the reasons, that’s a question
to the beneficiaries,” the press service said.

Kurt Volker, the
former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine during the Poroshenko administration,
requested that Zelensky administration officials refrain from “persecuting”
former President Poroshenko, the eurointegration.com.ua news site reported on
Nov. 7, citing a transcript of acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine William
Taylor, Jr.’s testimony to the U.S. House intelligence committee in its
impeachment investigation of U.S. President Trump. The request was made during
a Sept. 14 meeting between Taylor, Volker, Presidential Aide Andriy Yermak and
Ihor Novikov, a non-staff presidential adviser.

Taylor, Jr.
testified that he was privy to information and actions that demonstrated the
Zelensky team was preparing to persecute Poroshenko for a whole series of
issues, for example, the incident in the Kerch Strait. During the meeting,
Yermak and Novikov demonstrated photos on their mobile phones of relatives,
including a brother and cousin, who were injured or killed in the war in
Donbas. “They showed this to Kurt and I, saying, ‘Poroshenko is guilty of
this’,” Taylor, Jr. testified. “At an emotional level, they have a deep anger
for Poroshenko. This is one of the things motivating attacks and court cases
against Poroshenko, but not only. Oligarch (Ihor) Kolomoisky also has a bone to
pick against Poroshenko.”

Zenon Zawada: When considering Volker’s
recommendations against prosecuting Poroshenko, it’ worth considering that
Volker’s work as U.S. special envoy to Ukraine was financed by the McCain
Institute, which was partly financed by a lobbying firm, the BGR Group, that
lists Poroshenko as among its clients, as reported by the politico.com news
site. So Volker is essentially returning Poroshenko’s favor in discouraging the
Zelensky administration from prosecuting the former president.

The many crimes that
Poroshenko stands accused of committing (at least a dozen criminal cases being
investigated) led us to believe that he would go to great lengths to avoid
handing over power to Zelensky, whose election campaign was sponsored by the
former president’s biggest political rival, Ihor Kolomoisky. Instead,
Poroshenko is staying put in Ukraine but some his associates are reported to
have secured immigration visas – as in the case of Oleksandr Hranovskiy, as
reported by journalist Serhiy Leshchenko. The Lutsenkos, meanwhile, have set up
a part-time residence in London, at minimum. And now Poroshenko is beginning to
transfer his assets to his eldest son.

Yet the public won’t be convinced of a serious attempt at
rule of law in Ukraine without high-profile prosecutions and convictions. If
the Zelensky administration decides not to prosecute Poroshenko, then other
targets need to be selected that are higher in status than those currently
being detained, such as MPs Serhiy Pashynskiy and Yaroslav Dubnevych.