Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, suspected of “high treasonIn a case of buying coal from pro-Russian separatists, did not appear on Thursday, December 23 for questioning as part of an investigation.
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Petro Poroshenko, who is currently in Poland and plans to return to Ukraine in January, “did not come“To this interrogation”because he was not obligedTo do so, told AFP his lawyer, Ilia Novikov. The request of the Ukrainian Bureau of Investigation (DBR), responsible for investigating senior officials, “has not been established in accordance with the law and is not binding», He affirmed.
Petro Poroshenko, 56, head of state between 2014 and 2019 and currently a deputy, has already been cited as a suspect in several corruption investigations, prosecutions deemed political by his relatives. On Monday, authorities announced that he was now suspected of “high treasonFor facilitating the purchase of around 48 million euros of coal, in 2014 and 2015, from Ukrainian companies located in separatist zones at war with Kiev.
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Defeated in the 2019 presidential election by Volodymyr Zelensky, Petro Poroshenko said in a video Tuesday that these new lawsuits were orchestrated by his successor and “linked to the fall in popularity“. His lawyer Ilia Novikov considers it illogical for investigators to accuse Petro Poroshenko of “be part of a conspiracy to financially support“The rebels, while he was at the time”in command of the military operationAgainst these same separatists. The American, British and Canadian Embassies have indicated “to follow closely»The lawsuits against Petro Poroshenko.