Anti-corruption detectives name minister as suspect in criminal case

Detectives with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of
Ukraine informed Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan on Sept. 14 that
he’s a suspect in a criminal charges of illegal enrichment and false income
declarations. Detectives examined his financial declarations stemming back to
2000, when he began working in the foreign ministry, based upon which they
determined that he could not have legally acquired his BMW X5 vehicle in 2015,
among other assets. The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office has
requested bail to be set at UAH 5 mln, which his fellow party members with the
People’s Front have already agreed to post.

In response, Omelyan denied any criminal activity,
insisting he will prove his innocence. He alleged the criminal case was
political persecution, which was launched soon after he visited the court trial
of a fellow party member, Mykola Martynenko, whose criminal charges also came
from the bureau. He said he had evidence proving detectives are cooperating
with politicians to target rivals. “If this is the biggest ‘crime’ they could incriminate
me for during my work as a minister, then I am not ashamed to look in the eyes
of our citizens, or our foreign partners, or the country’s leadership,” Omelyan
commented.

Zenon Zawada: Omelyan is
the first cabinet minister targeted for prosecution by the anti-corruption
bureau, which was launched in 2015 after Western lenders required its creation.
Omelyan was correct to have pointed out that far more serious crimes are taking
place than the ones he’s accused of. It’s also worth considering that the
infrastructure ministry is a valuable asset for the president to control during
the elections.

Therefore, we believe Omelyan could be also accurate
in claiming that he’s been targeted for political reasons, considering that the
bureau’s high profile targets have come largely from the People’s Front party.
If the bureau wants to demonstrate its independence to public, it should open
one criminal case against a Poroshenko Bloc member for every criminal case
against members of rival parties. 

Omelyan’s fate will most likely follow a similar path
of his fellow party member and former MP Mykola Martynenko, a millionaire who
is widely recognized as the party’s key financier. Martynenko was arrested in
April 2017 on theft charges, his fellow party members posted bail the same
month and his criminal case has been bouncing around the courts ever since, yet
to go to trial. As with former State Fiscal Service head Roman Nasirov, another
high-profile case pursued by the bureau and under
prosecution, we expect Omelyan will be placed on leave and eventually
dismissed.

Given the scandals surrounding the anti-corruption
prosecution itself, we don’t expect any trials or convictions in any
high-profile cases on the horizon.