Zelenskyy’s aides lobbied against NABU charging Stefanishyna, MP says
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and members of his inner circle tried to prevent Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s former ambassador to the United States, from being charged with corruption, opposition MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak told NV Radio on Aug. 6.
Opposition MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak has claimed that officials close to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lobbied against former ambassador to the United States Olha Stefanishyna being charged with corruption. Zheleznyak stated that the president and his inner circle had been trying to prevent the charges for a long time, as they learned of the planned action through their own sources and kept a close eye on the anti-corruption agencies' work.
When it became apparent that the charges could not be avoided, Stefanishyna was reportedly forced to resign for personal reasons, according to Zheleznyak. However, he added that there is no evidence to suggest that former Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko agreed to take on the role of ambassador to the United States. Stefanishyna had reportedly requested to end her diplomatic service for personal reasons on July 12, and on the same day, another opposition MP, Oleksii Honcharenko, suggested that she could be charged by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO).
Zelenskyy dismissed Stefanishyna as ambassador on August 3, and on August 5, both NABU and SAPO served her with a notice of suspicion alleging she acquired property through others acting on her behalf, including two one-room apartments, cash spent on apartment renovations, money for her mother's medical treatment, plane tickets, rent for another apartment, and use of a Mercedes registered to a subordinate.
Written by urgent.news from New Voice of Ukraine's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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