Businessman-investor Mazepa calls NABU a "pocket body" that persecutes reformers

Businessman-investor Mazepa calls NABU a "pocket body" that persecutes reformers

Kyiv  •  UNN

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Businessman Ihor Mazepa said that the NABU is turning into a 'pocket' body to persecute reformers. Experts point to political motives in the cases against Nemchynov, Solsky and other officials.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine is turning into a "pocket" body aimed at persecuting reformers. This opinion was expressed by Ihor Mazepa, a businessman and head of the investment company Concorde Capital.

NABU is turning into an ordinary police pocket body. Kobolev, Pivovarsky, other reformers..... now Nemchynov

- Mazepa wrote, commenting on the prosecution of former Deputy Energy Minister Maksym Nemchynov, whom NABU suspects of abuse.

Nemchinov himself statedthat an effort to discredit and damage his reputation was being conducted against him. 

This is due to the fact that I was among the three winners of the competition for the vacant positions of the NEURC members and had a real chance to be appointed to this body. However, three days before the Government meeting where this decision was made, I was summoned for questioning as a witness to the NABU and instead of being interrogated, I was handed an ABSOLUTELY UNFOUNDED SUSPICION... It is clear that this influenced the Government's decision (i.e., political pressure worked) and the choice fell on other candidates

- said the former Deputy Minister of Energy.

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The NABU has been practicing statements about "high-profile exposures" of top officials. However, such cases do not always have a legal basis, and sometimes even result in acquittals. This was the case with former Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan, who was publicly accused by NABU of abuse, but was fully acquitted by the High Anti-Corruption Court.

This is likely to be the case with another political case against former Minister of Agrarian Policy Mykola Solsky. He is accused by detectives of helping the ATO soldiers privatize land in Sumy region. The investigation has been going on for 5 years, the reasonable time limits have been exhausted, the examinations indicate that Solsky is innocent, but NABU continues to "drag it out" and plans to interrogate more than a thousand ATO soldiers, most of whom are defending the country at the front.

The Kharkiv Human Rights Group called the NABU's statements against former Minister of Agrarian Policy Mykola Solsky a violation of the presumption of innocence. The human rights activists also believe that the real reason for the prosecution of Solsky is the desire to stop his efforts to create a land market in Ukraine.

At the same time, there is a version that the political persecution of the Minister of Agrarian Policy Mykola Solsky could be aimed at disrupting negotiations with Poland on farmers' protests, and NABU played the role of an instrument of this disruption. After all, Solsky was the main negotiator, and shortly before the announcement of his suspicion, it was already announced that an understanding had been reached between the conflicting parties. However, after NABU's statements, the Polish side immediately withdrew from the negotiation process with Ukraine.