Prosecutor General Ruslan Riaboshapka has asked parliament to let him prosecute lawmaker Yaroslav Dubnevych for his alleged involvement in an embezzlement case that cost the state rail enterprise Ukrzaliznytsia more than Hr 93 million ($3.8 million).
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine suspects the lawmaker and his associates of abusing their position to profit from Ukrzaliznytsia’s procurement of railroad switches. The suspects allegedly organized the purchase of switches at inflated prices by involving enterprises that they controlled, including Argo LLC and KRT Corporation.
Dubnevych, the former head of the parliamentary transport committee, his brother Bohdan and six other individuals linked to them have been under suspicion for more than a year. The men allegedly violated a law criminalizing the embezzlement, waste or acquisition of state resources by abusing one’s public office.
“The evidence indicates that the indicated person and their accomplices studied and analyzed prices and demand in the market… and decided to take possession of the funds of Ukrzaliznytsia’s production support branch,” the prosecutor general’s office stated.
Dubnevych issued a Facebook statement, calling the allegations politically motivated and having “nothing to do with reality.”
While Riaboshapka’s request does not call Dubnevych out by name, it details the alleged Hr 93 million loss and the lawmaker’s former role as transport committee head.
The Rada needs to lift Dubnevych’s parliamentary immunity before he can be prosecuted. While parliament voted last month to eliminate immunity for lawmakers, the change only kicks in at the start of 2020.
In 2018, the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office requested to lift parliamentary immunity from Dubnevych over the same case. But then-Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko denied the request in January, saying it contained errors, including spelling errors.
The Prosecutor General’s office later rejected the request again in February, saying that the evidence was insubstantial and the document needed additional work. On Oct. 17, Riaboshapka wrote that enough evidence has been gathered to place Dubnevych under suspicion.
In a separate NABU investigation last year, detectives alleged that the Dubnevych brothers orchestrated an embezzlement scheme involving the purchase of natural gas from Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz. In this instance, anti-corruption investigators said the men’s alleged actions damaged state interests to the tune of at least Hr 1.4 billion ($56.6 million).
In recent weeks, Riaboshapka has been reviewing draft indictments against former officials and members of parliament.
