Prosecutors to bring new charges against former NBU deputy head, arrested a week ago on suspicion of financial abuses
e brought against the former deputy head of Ukraine’s National Bank, arrested a week ago on suspicion of financial abuses, prosecutors said Tuesday.
Kyiv city prosecutor Yury Haisinsky also assailed former National Bank chief and now Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko, who has defended his ex-aide.
“These statements can be seen as putting pressure on the investigators,” said Haisinsky, adding that Yushchenko and Finance Minister Ihor Mitiukov would be called to testify.
The attack on Yushchenko could indicate a political motive behind the sudden arrest of his former aide, Volodymyr Bondar. Opposition groups which have been conducting a protest campaign against President Leonid Kuchma would like to see the popular prime minister as their leader, though Yushchenko had earlier taken Kuchma’s side in the president’s battle with his opponents.
Opposition leaders are also demanding the ouster of chief prosecutor Mykhailo Potebenko in connection with what they say has been a botched investigation into the murder of a journalist who criticized Kuchma and other top officials for alleged high-level corruption.
Yushchenko, speaking in the western city of Lviv, denied putting pressure on the investigators and hinted at a political motive for the case. “Sometimes cases are being thrown into the political arena, not for the sake of giving a true answer but to demonstrate the implementation of certain political speculations,” he said.
“I don’t want to be persecuted following somebody’s telephone call, somebody’s wish,” Yushchenko added.
Bondar was arrested March 19. Prosecutors suspect him of making a “knowingly unprofitable” deal to deposit $75 million at the Cyprus-registered affiliate of Credit Suisse First Boston bank in 1997, supposedly resulting in the loss of $5 million for Ukraine.
Haisinsky said Bondar will also be charged with depositing $15 million in the Zurich branch of Credit Suisse First Boston in 1997, with the money meant to be later transferred to a Ukrainian private bank, Real-Bank.
“The contract was written in such a way that Ukrainian funds became Swiss funds and have not been returned yet,” Haisinsky said. Thus the damage allegedly caused by Bondar totals $20 million, he said in comments cited by the Interfax news agency.
Yushchenko said last week that he was certain of his former aide’s innocence.
“The accused says that Yushchenko knew nothing about it,” noted Haisinsky. “So it’s even worse, if such funds from Ukraine’s gold and hard currency reserves left for banks abroad without his knowledge.”
The prosecutor said it had not been determined yet whether Bondar benefited personally. The Cyprus deal prompted a parliamentary probe and accusations in foreign news media that the bank used International Monetary Fund loans to invest in high-risk, high-yield bonds.
An audit showed no misuse of IMF money but found that Ukraine overstated the size of its reserves to win loans.
