NABU and NACP should check the connections of People's Deputy Kuzminykh with the pharmacy business - lawyer
Kyiv • UNN
Anti-corruption bodies will check People's Deputy Kuzminykh regarding the possible concealment of the pharmacy business, registered to figureheads. The lawyer points to signs of a number of criminal offenses.
Anti-corruption bodies should check and provide a legal assessment of the possible involvement of a people's deputy, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Health, Serhiy Kuzminykh, in the pharmacy business, which appears to be registered to figureheads. This was stated in an exclusive comment to UNN by the founder of the law firm "Kasyanenko and Partners" Dmytro Kasyanenko.
Details
As UNN found out, People's Deputy of Ukraine Serhiy Kuzminykh, who is currently accused in criminal proceedings for receiving 558 thousand hryvnias of illegal benefit, apparently used the scheme to hide his assets and conduct business activities.
In particular, according to open data, Maksym Tokovyi, the driver of the people's deputy, who also appears in the mentioned criminal case (he was an intermediary in Serhiy Kuzminykh's receipt of illegal benefits), is registered as the LLC "MAXIMUM EF", whose KVED activity indicates that it is a network of pharmacies.
In addition, there is another obvious connection between People's Deputy Serhiy Kuzminykh and pharmacies. Ihor Salko is the person authorized to perform actions on behalf of the legal entity LLC "MAXIMUM EF", including signing contracts. He is also a signatory to the Kuzminykh Brothers International Charitable Foundation, founded by the People's Deputy.
According to lawyer Dmytro Kasyanenko, the described facts require a separate legal assessment by anti-corruption bodies, in particular in terms of possible concealment of assets, conflict of interest, abuse of office and corruption ties.
If the driver of a people's deputy, who, according to the investigation, acted as an intermediary in receiving illegal benefits, is also a signatory of a network of pharmacies and a charitable foundation associated with the same deputy, then such a structure looks like a classic mechanism for indirect control over undeclared assets
According to him, the revealed facts may indicate the existence of signs of at least five criminal offenses:
- Article 368-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - illegal enrichment, in the event that the deputy actually controls assets that are legally registered to figureheads, but are not reflected in the declaration;
- Article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - declaration of inaccurate information, if corporate rights related to the pharmacy chain or charitable foundation are not specified in the declaration of the people's deputy;
- Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - abuse of power or official position, if the deputy uses his status to cover up business interests;
- Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - abuse of influence, taking into account the role of the intermediary acting on behalf of an official;
- Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - appropriation of property, if the appropriation or embezzlement of property under the guise of charitable activities is established.
In view of the above, such information is certainly subject to investigation and legal qualification within the framework of criminal proceedings. The relevant materials should be transferred to the NABU, which, in accordance with Article 216 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, has exclusive jurisdiction over people's deputies in cases of corruption crimes. In addition, the NACP has the authority to initiate a full verification of declarations, and the Office of the Prosecutor General or the SAPO - to exercise procedural guidance
Let us remind you
Earlier, People's Deputy Serhiy Kuzminykh was exposed "red-handed" while receiving an illegal benefit of 558 thousand hryvnias. According to the investigation, he received funds for assisting in the signing of contracts between private companies and one of the hospitals in the Zhytomyr region for the supply of medical equipment.
At the end of January 2022, NABU recorded the transfer of money and published a video about it. In it, a person with a voice similar to Kuzminykh's promises his assistance and adds that he can resolve issues with all medical institutions in the region.
On January 31, 2022, the then Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova signed a suspicion for him.
Serhiy Kuzminykh was not detained due to "deputy immunity", but he ignored interrogations, which is why he was put on the wanted list. After several days of "hiding", the people's deputy was finally detained for the election of a preventive measure.
In May 2022, Kuzminykh was chosen as a preventive measure in the form of bail in the amount of 49 thousand 600 hryvnias. Of course, a bail was paid for the people's choice.
In September 2022, the indictment in the case against Kuzminykh was sent to the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court for consideration on the merits. Currently, the stage of evidence examination is underway. During this time, the people's deputy repeatedly ignored court hearings.
