The case of former deputy prosecutor general Vitaliy Kasko, who is accused of misappropriation of official housing, will be transferred to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said.
“As for Kasko – my public position prior to [my] appointment [as the Prosecutor General] has not changed. I think that if the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) has questions to ask its deputy, this should be the subject of investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. In fact, this is what my predecessor did. The NABU changed the article of indictment and sent the case to the police, which returned it to the PGO. In the near future, I’m going to send the Kasko case to the agency that is independent from the prosecutor general and its deputy. This is the NABU. Having studied similar cases, I’ve concluded that they need to be sent there, because if I close them, it won’t be objective,” Lutsenko said at a press conference in Kyiv on May 30.
Thus, he said it is the NABU that is to decide to either close the Kasko case or send it to court.
Lutsenko said he would not interfere in the process.
Speaking about misappropriation of official housing by other PGO officials, he said that criminal proceedings involving dozens of prosecutors were being investigated. These materials will also be transferred to the NABU, he added.
Speaking about Chairman of the Board of the Anti-Corruption Action Center Vitaliy Shabunin, who is accused of embezzlement of a U.S. grant, Lutsenko said there were no grounds for criminal proceeds. “This means that the case will be closed,” he added.
