Member of Yanukovych entourage arrested

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on Nov. 5 the arrest of Olena Lukash, a close political associate to former President Viktor Yanukovych who served as justice minister in the last seven months of his presidency. The same day, prosecutors named her a suspect in the theft of UAH 2.5 mln from the state budget and holding fake tenders during her tenure as justice minister. She could also be charged with crimes related to the persecution of the EuroMaidan, said a Prosecutor General Office spokesman.

In her turn, Lukash denied she was arrested, stating that she appeared at the Prosecutor General’s Office voluntarily. She told a television network that she is innocent and has been in Kyiv for the last year and a half, rejecting the claim by prosecutors that she was hiding.

Zenon Zawada: It will have been very unwise if the Lukash incident was used as a mere decoy for the public in order to deflect attention from the government’s recent mishaps and failures, particularly in relation to the visa-free regime. Prosecuting the Yanukovych entourage is a serious matter that the public won’t allowed to be manipulated for short-term political ends.

Lukash is only the second member of the Yanukovych entourage to be arrested. The first, Oleksandr Yefremov, was charged with a minor crime, compared to what he’s reported to have done, and was released from surveillance this week. Lukash might not have been arrested, as she claims, but she certainly wasn’t detained. The president stands to further embarrass himself if no criminal convictions come of this.