Police open criminal proceedings over NBU official Polarush's threats to kill a volunteer soldier
Kyiv • UNN
Police are investigating death threats made by NBU director Pavel Polarush to a Belarusian volunteer. The incident occurred during a traffic conflict in Kyiv, and Polarush was drunk.
Police have registered a criminal proceeding under the article "threat of murder" over a conflict on the road in the capital, during which a drunken head of the NBU's Department for Work with Problem Assets Pavel Poliarush threatened to kill Belarusian volunteer Andrei Tratsevsky (Bezsmertny). This was reported in an exclusive comment to UNN by the press service of the Kyiv police.
Context
Belarusian volunteer Andrei Tratsevsky (Bezsmertny) said that he was threatened by Pavel Poliarush, a drunken head of the NBU's Department for Work with Troubled Assets. The incident occurred on the road near one of the capital's residential complexes. According to him, Poliarush jumped in front of a military officer, blocked traffic, started fighting and said that he would shoot him in the legs with his "award weapon. Polarush said he did nothing of the sort. Another video published by the military shows that police officers inspecting Polarush's car found an object that looked like a gun. According to Tratsevsky, Poliarush allegedly said that he would "buy everyone" and said in front of law enforcement officers that "all Belarusian volunteers will either go back to Belarus or kneel in Pokrovsk.
"Two criminal proceedings have been registered, part 1 of Article 129 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - a threat to kill, and part 1 of Article 125 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - causing light bodily harm, this is on the fact of a road conflict where the driver of a Lexus (Pavlo Polarush - ed.) was driving while intoxicated. He blocked the passage of another participant, the driver of an Audi (Andriy Tratsevsky - ed.), and they had a conflict," the Kyiv police said.
Polarush was allegedly driving a Lexus belonging to Kateryna Shatrova, the daughter of Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Iryna Mudra. Mudra is Polarush's common-law wife.
The press service added that the police also seized the weapon with which Polarush had threatened the officer. In addition, the police confirmed that the NBU official refused to take a breathalyzer test.
"Patrol police inspectors also drew up a 130 report against the driver of the Lexus (Pavlo Polarush - ed.) for driving under the influence of alcohol," the Kyiv police press service added.
Recall
According to media reports, Polarush is to be appointed managing director of the Deposit Guarantee Fund. He is a favorite of the National Bank, whose representatives are members of the DGF Administrative Board, which is making the relevant personnel changes. It is possible that Polarush may also be supported by the Presidential Office, as the Deputy Head of the Office, Iryna Mudra, is his common-law wife.
Earlier, journalists found out that Polarush repeatedly traveled abroad after the start of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine. In particular, journalists reported that in November 2022, he received permission to leave the country from the odious former Deputy Minister of Defense, who is currently a suspect in corruption crimes. The permit was allegedly issued to Polarush to travel abroad in an elite Lexus car to receive humanitarian aid. However, it is not yet known on what grounds Polarush traveled abroad from February to November 2022.
Member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Transport and Infrastructure Mykola Velychkovych believes that law enforcement should investigate Polarush's travels abroad. A member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security and Defense, Hennadiy Kasai , does not rule outthat Polarush may have problems during the special vetting process as a candidate for the position of managing director of the Deposit Guarantee Fund.
At the same time, MPs and experts interviewed by UNN emphasize that the election of the new head of the Deposit Guarantee Fund should be transparent and open. And one of the main selection criteria, along with professionalism, should be the candidate's crystal clear business reputation.
"It is extremely important to have an impeccable reputation. This is the key. It is important that this person has a decent reputation, is definitely a specialist and a patriot of Ukraine, and does not represent the interests of someone else," emphasized MP Mykhailo Tsymbalyuk.
