Medvedchuk's case on misappropriation of oil pipeline worth UAH 1.4 bln, laundering of EUR 29.9 mln sent to court

The Prosecutor General’s Office has sent an indictment against the former MP of Ukraine, who organized a large-scale scheme to seize state property, said Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko.

"The investigation established that from 2015 to 2018, the former lawmaker created and led an organized group that effectively stole part of a main oil products pipeline from the state. The facility was valued at UAH 1.4 billion at the time. To carry out the scheme, the organizers, led by the former parliamentarian, recruited experts to provide knowingly false conclusions in court and abused authority at various levels," the Telegram statement said.

The prosecutor’s office did not name the former lawmaker, but judging from the case details and published photo, it refers to Viktor Medvedchuk, a member of Ukraine’s parliament in the second through fourth and ninth convocations and one of the leaders of the banned pro-Russian Opposition Platform-For Life party.

According to the investigation, after gaining control of the facility, group members used it for personal enrichment, laundering more than EUR 29.9 million in income obtained from operating the pipeline through criminal means.

The former deputy is charged with organizing the seizure of property on an especially large scale, money laundering, abuse of authority and falsification of expert opinions.

Because he is on Russian territory, the investigation was conducted as a special pre-trial investigation in absentia. Materials on other participants in the scheme were separated into a separate proceeding — they are wanted.

Kravchenko stressed that law enforcement agencies continue active measures to search for, arrest and confiscate assets of individuals suspected of crimes against the state and corruption.