The High Anti-Corruption Court has authorized an in absentia investigation into former MP Ivanyushchenko in a land-related case
The High Anti-Corruption Court has authorized a special pre-trial investigation into former MP Yuriy Ivanyushchenko regarding the alleged misappropriation of land plots.
This was reported by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.
The decision was issued by an investigating judge on April 27. It has already entered into force and is not subject to appeal.
Ivanyushchenko, who was a member of parliament from the banned Party of Regions, is suspected of organizing a scheme to launder assets obtained through criminal means.
According to the investigation, the case involves nine land plots with a total area of 18 hectares, valued at over 160 million hryvnias. The investigation established that in 2021, during a corporate conflict over control of a wholesale market near Kyiv, an asset diversion scheme was carried out.
First, the plots were leased to a controlled company, after which, through a series of fictitious transactions, they were sold to three affiliated companies. Subsequently, a trusted associate of the former MP became the beneficiary of these entities.
Ivanyushchenko had previously been placed on the wanted list. Conducting a special investigation allows the case to proceed and be referred to court even in the absence of the suspect.
Earlier, Swiss law enforcement authorities handed over documents to Ukrainian investigators regarding bank accounts and transactions linked to former Ukrainian MP Yuriy Ivanyushchenko. These funds have been frozen and are expected to be returned to Ukraine in the future.
As a reminder, Ivanyushchenko is accused of embezzling 170 million hryvnias in state funds received by Ukraine from the sale of greenhouse gas emission quotas under the Kyoto Protocol to Japan. He has been on the run since December 2014. Recently, law enforcement officials detained a close associate of Ivanyushchenko, former Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Shepelev.
