Former deputy head of Yanukovych administration files 3rd claim about Poroshenko's crimes
KYIV. May 24 (Interfax) - A former deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential administration under Viktor Yanukovych has filed a third claim against the country's fifth president, Petro Poroshenko, with the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), this time accusing him of money laundering, legalization of criminal proceeds and tax evasion.
"Friends, I have registered a third claim with the State Bureau of Investigation, about money laundering, legalization of criminal proceeds and tax evasion by former president Poroshenko who, as part of an organized crime group, owned Pryamyi television channel, which was registered as an offshore firm and owned factiously by a former Party of Regions member, Makeyenko," Andriy Portnov wrote on his Facebook page on Friday.
On May 23 he said that he had registered a second SBI claim against the ex-president.
"Have had a report registered with the State Bureau of Investigation this morning on the laundering of money stolen from the army through offshore dealings by Poroshenko. Expecting the State Bureau of Investigation to file a motion with a court within a few weeks to freeze all assets belonging to Poroshenko," Portnov wrote on Telegram.
On May 21 the SBI launched a preliminary inquiry into Portnov's claims of treason and attempted coup by the Ukrainian leadership in late 2018 (Articles 109, 111 and 426-1 of the Criminal Code). At issue was a crossing of the Kerch Strait by a group of Ukrainian Navy ships sailing from the Black Sea into the Sea of Azov on November 25, the SBI said.
Portnov said earlier that his "first claim about [Poroshenko's] crime" concerned events dating back to November 2018.
"We believe he is involved in treason, attempted power grab, and abuse of office," Portnov wrote on Facebook.
"Question [...] Poroshenko, members of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, the General Staff chief and commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Navy commander, and other officials who could bear relation to those events," the application said.