First MP stripped of immunity by current parliament for alleged corruption

Ukraine’s parliament
voted on Oct. 31 for the first time in the current convocation to remove the
political immunity of an MP for alleged corruption. The same day, Yaroslav
Dubnevych, a businessman elected to a Lviv single-mandate district, was named a
suspect by the Prosecutor General’s Office in a criminal case of
misappropriating or embezzling state funds by abuse of authority in the amount
of UAH 93 mln from state railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia.

Besides stripping
Dubnevych of his immunity, parliament voted to allow his arrest, which has yet
to occur. Dubnevych’s own group of deputies, For the Future, voted to approve
the removal of his immunity, but not his arrest, which was supported by a
majority of The People’s Servant and Voice factions. During the parliamentary
session, a People’s Servant MP, Andriy Motovylovets, offered testimony to the
illegal acts committed by Dubnevych from the tribune. In response to the
accusations, Dubnevych denied any criminal activity, citing a lack of evidence
in what he described as a campaign of political populism.

Three companies
owned by Yaroslav and Bohdan Dubnevych were accused by the National
Anti-Corruption of Ukraine in January 2018 of misappropriating 300 mln cubic
meters of natural gas at a value of UAH 1.4 bln. In all, Yaroslav Dubnevych is
involved in 37 corruption schemes, while Bohdan Dubnevych is involved in 42
schemes, according to the Chesno anti-corruption civic organization.

The criminal case in
which Yaroslav Dubnevych was named a suspect involved the sale of railcar parts
to the state monopoly Ukrainian Railway (RAILUA) at inflated prices, causing
UAH 93 mln in damages to the state, the pravda.com.ua news site reported. On
Dec. 31, Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Nazar Kholonytskiy submitted a
request to remove Dubnevych’s political immunity, which was not fulfilled by
the previous prosecutor general, Yuriy Lutsenko, the pravda.com.ua news site
said. Early this year, seven employees of Dubnevych’s firms were named suspects
in criminal cases, and two were detained by detectives of the National
Anti-Corruption Bureau.