Kyiv city first deputy head accused of corruption

Mykola Povoroznyk, the first deputy head of the Kyiv
City Administration, was placed on leave on Apr. 22 for the duration of an
investigation into allegedly demanding a bribe from a builder, the mayor told
an online press conference. “In order for the investigation to be unbiased and
for there not to be claims of some influence of a high-ranking official, which
Povoroznyk is, he submitted a statement of leave from his obligations during
the time of investigation,” Klitschko said of his close associate. In an Apr.
15 press conference, Klitschko had said, “Someone is supposed to sit in prison.
Either the corrupt official, or those who fabricated this case.”

Povoroznyk is alleged to have demanded a USD 125,000
bribe on Apr. 14 to approve building plans in an undercover investigation
conducted by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the tsn.ua news site
reported that day. A USD 60,000 portion of the bribe was accepted by an
intermediary, who at Povoroznyk’s approval, planned to accept a second bribe of
USD 246,000. The details were confirmed by the pravda.com.ua news site with its
SBU sources.

In response to the allegations, Povoroznyk insisted
that he took no bribes and that he never agreed with the intermediary to take
bribes. “I demand that law enforcement authorities investigate the
dissemination of false information in the mass media,” he said. So far, news
sites have yet to report on any arrest, any criminal case being opened against
Povoroznyk or a notice of suspicion being issued.

Zenon Zawada: Povoroznyk
is the highest-ranking official to face a possible criminal investigation since
Zelensky took over as president in May last year. This is positive, but it will
be hollow if a criminal trial is not held and a court decision will not be
reached. But in Povoroznyk’s case, a criminal case has not even been opened,
which hints of a media smear.

Given that tsn.ua is a news site controlled by
Kolomoisky, we can’t rule out its reporters worked in some coordination with
the string operation with SBU officers. For the local elections in October, the
Kolomoisky-backed candidate for Kyiv mayor is Oleksandr Tkachenko, who served
as executive director in the billionaire’s media empire (which includes
tsn.ua).

Whatever Povoroznyk’s fate, it won’t harm
Klitschko’s chances of re-election this year, which are strong at this point.
Yesterday he announced impressive bonuses for the city’s doctors and nurses for
March, which is sure to widen his already firm public support.