10:29 19.07.2018

Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Yezhel gets refugee status in Belarus – counterintelligence

3 min read
Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Yezhel gets refugee status in Belarus – counterintelligence

Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Yezhel, who is accused by Ukrainian law enforcers of abuse of power and office, has been granted refugee status in Belarus and lives with his family in Minsk.

A ruling of the Solomiansky District Court of Kyiv of July 5, 2018, which was published in the single register of judicial decisions, states that the prosecutor submitted a petition to the court for a special judicial proceeding in the criminal case on charges brought against Yezhel due to abuse of power and office (Part 2, Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The prosecutor pointed out that on February 5, 2016, the suspect was put on the wanted list due to the failure to establish his whereabouts.

At the same time, the investigation knows that on August 9, 2014, Yezhel crossed the state border of Ukraine at the Novi Yarylovychi checkpoint in the direction of Belarus and there is no data on his entrance into Ukraine.

In addition, in April 2016, Yezhel submitted a petition to the investigator of the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine with a request to close criminal proceedings against him due to the absence of a crime, in which he noted his place of residence – the village of Ratomka, Minsk region of Belarus.

"A certificate of the Main Directorate of Military Counterintelligence of May 16, 2017 established that in the Republic of Belarus this person had been granted refugee status and, according to latest data, he lives with his family in Minsk, where he rented an apartment," reads the motivating part of the ruling.

The prosecutor believes that all this gives sufficient grounds to assert that the suspect is aware of the notice of suspicion of having committed a criminal offense and that a pretrial investigation against him is being held.

In this regard, the court granted the prosecutor's request for holding a special court proceeding in the Yezhel case.

As reported, on August 22, 2016, the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv granted a special pretrial investigation in criminal proceedings against the ex-defense minister.

Yezhel is suspected of deliberately issuing four separate orders in the interests of third parties in 2011-2012, according to which payment for utility services consumed by business entities was made at the expense of budgetary funds without subsequent compensation (business entities were involved in providing food services to the personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces). These actions caused financial damage to the state for a total of almost UAH 43 million. Yezhel was placed on the wanted list. Measures have been taken to put him on the international wanted list. The court gave permission to detain him and bring him to court to consider an application for choosing a preventive measure for him in the form of arrest.

On September 27, 2016, the Main Military Prosecutor's Office completed a special pretrial investigation in criminal proceedings against former Defense Minister Yezhel.

In December 2016, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said that the military prosecutor's office had sent an indictment to the court for the conviction of the ex-defense minister in absentia.

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