(MENAFN- UkrinForm) The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) assures that the case against former president of Ukraine, MP Petro Poroshenko, over the coal supplies from the temporarily occupied territories is not politically motivated.
'This case ... is not politically motivated. We emphasize that we leave politicians dealing with politics and let investigators deal with the facts,' SBI Spokesperson Tetiana Sapyan said at a briefing, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
As noted, the State Bureau of Investigation welcomes the decision of MP Petro Poroshenko not to stay abroad and take part in the court hearing. 'We hope that the trial will take place in the manner prescribed by the Code of Criminal Procedure,' Sapyan said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.
Petro Poroshenko, MP, leader of the European Solidarity political party, the 5th President of Ukraine, has arrived in Kyiv from a visit abroad on Monday morning.
As reported, the former president was on a visit abroad from December 17 to January 17.
The Pechersky District Court of Kyiv scheduled a hearing to choose a pre-trial restraint for Poroshenko for 11:00 today.
Acting Prosecutor General Oleksiy Symonenko signed a notice of charges for Poroshenko over coal supplies from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine on December 20, 2021.
According to the State Bureau of Investigation data, Poroshenko is charged with 'aiding the activities of the terrorist organizations 'LPR' and 'DPR' by acting in collusion with a group of individuals, including representatives of the senior leadership of the Russian Federation.' The politician was summoned for interrogation on December 23, but Poroshenko did not appear as he had been on the visit abroad.
In September-November 2021, an MP and a former energy minister were charged within in the same case. They are suspected of purchasing coal from non-government-controlled areas in Donetsk and Luhansk regions using state funds. According to the investigation, the defendants made Ukraine's energy sector dependent on Russia and terrorist organizations, undermining the economic security of Ukraine in 2014-2015, depriving it of opportunities for diversification of energy sources, and providing Russia with greater levers for further interference in the internal affairs of Ukraine and subversive activities against the country.
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