MP Stolar returns to Ukraine for court summons, denies plans to hide
Ukrainian MP Vadym Stolar said he voluntarily returned to Ukraine to appear before the High Anti-Corruption Court, which imposed a preventive measure on him on September 11, and denied any intention to evade the investigation. He faces charges including creating a criminal organization.
Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) imposed a preventive measure on MP Vadym Stolar on September 11, a figure in the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) case known as "Femida." Stolar announced on Facebook that he had personally and voluntarily arrived in court that same day in response to a summons regarding a motion to apply a preventive measure against him.
The lawmaker said this fact best demonstrates his attitude toward the proceedings. He stated he has no intention of hiding, evading the investigation, or obstructing the criminal case in any way. Stolar expressed confidence that a proper and objective investigation, carried out by the defense, detectives and prosecutors, will establish that his actions contain no signs of any criminal offense.
Background
Stolar, who appears in recordings from the NABU and SAPO investigation, had already returned to Ukraine earlier. On August 20, he was notified in absentia of suspicion. He is charged under several parts of five different articles, including creating a criminal organization, unlawful seizure of property, document forgery, and unauthorized interference with information systems.
For creating a criminal organization, he faces 7 to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property, while unauthorized interference with information systems carries a sentence of 10 to 15 years, since it was committed during martial law. On September 11, the HACC set his preventive measure at 300 million hryvnias bail without detention.
NABU and SAPO recently exposed a scheme in which participants of the "Forest Gump" operation seized real estate and other assets through interference with the Ministry of Justice's networks. The same criminal group organized the legalization of funds to pay bail for former energy and justice minister Herman Halushchenko, using the state-owned Sense Bank. Also named in the cases are former Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Iryna Mudra and former MP Maksym Mykytas.
