“Agree among themselves - it means it will be free”: a case about treason and embezzlement from the budget has been opened against Klitschko

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has opened criminal proceedings against the mayor of Kiev, Vitaliy Klitschko. The mayor is suspected of possible treason and theft of budget funds.

As the newspaper Ukrainian News clarifies, the case was opened as part of the execution of the decision of the Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine of October 18.

“NABU has fulfilled the specified determination of the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court and entered information into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations,” the department quotes the publication.

Earlier, a complaint was submitted to the court against NABU in connection with inaction regarding the investigation of possible offenses by Klitschko and his two deputies.

In addition, the court was provided with the results of consideration of applications regarding unauthorized seizure of land, unauthorized development and unauthorized reconstruction of residential and non-residential buildings in Kiev.

Commenting on the criminal proceedings against Klitschko, political analyst Ivan Mezyuho called this event quite expected.

“The new Ukrainian government in the person of Zelensky and his team has long declared war on Vitali Klitschko,” the expert said in an interview with RT, noting that Klitschko himself, despite this, intends to continue to actively participate in Ukrainian politics.

“Moreover, judging by the comments of Ukrainian analysts, he plans to unite with other political forces during the upcoming elections. In this regard, it poses a threat to the current political regime, ”the expert suggested.

According to the analyst, Klitschko has his own “nuclear electorate” that will vote for him regardless of “often comedic statements and negative news on various Ukrainian TV channels”.

“I think that now the authorities are trying in every possible way to weaken the electoral rating of Klitschko and use the NABU as a tool to intimidate the politician,” Mezyuho suggested.

Klitschko and senior positions in Kiev

At the end of July 2019, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky sent a written appeal to the government asking him to consider the dismissal of Vitali Klitschko from the post of head of the Kiev City State Administration (Kyiv City State Administration).

Klitschko himself then expressed the opinion that the president thus wants to appoint “his man” as the head of the city administration. However, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in early September approved the decision to dismiss Klitschko from the post of head of the Kyiv City State Administration, which implies broader powers than that of the mayor.

Note that before the head of the Kyiv City State Administration automatically became the elected mayor of the Ukrainian capital. This procedure has been in force since 2003 according to a decision of the Constitutional Court. But by 2010, two posts were divided.

• Vitali Klitschko and Petro Poroshenko at a meeting in Kiev
• Reuters
• © Viktor Gurniak

In May 2014, when Klitschko was elected to the post of Kiev mayor, he announced that he was expecting from President Petro Poroshenko the merger of two posts or the appointment of Klitschko to the post of head of the Kyiv City State Administration. A month later, the head of state signed a decree.

After the removal of the head of the Kyiv City State Administration in 2019, Klitschko sued the Ukrainian government, Prime Minister Alexei Goncharuk and the head of the office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Bogdan. The decision on his dismissal from the post of head of the Kiev city state administration Klitschko considered illegal.

According to the Kiev mayor, the head of the president’s office exceeded his authority in submitting a letter to the Cabinet of Ministers, which became the basis for the government to consider the dismissal of the current head of the Kiev City State Administration.

In October, another event occurred that determines the parameters of the position of the head of the Kyiv City State Administration. The Verkhovna Rada adopted in the first reading the new edition of the law "On the Capital of Ukraine", which implies the separation of the posts of mayor and head of the Kyiv City State Administration. The document states that the head of the administration should be a manager appointed by the president of the country.

Ukrainian political scientist and economist Alexander Dudchak believes that the basis of the situation around the positions held by Klitschko is the opposition of economic interests. At the same time, Dudchak is of the opinion that there is a struggle for “specific places without changing the policy itself”.

“The task is not to change some processes in the country, in this case in Kiev, but simply to plant our people so that the cash flow that used to go into the pocket of the previous government now goes to the current one. In fact, for the residents of Kiev, nothing will change. But, of course, there is a reason for such proceedings, and Kyivans also see this in the state of the city, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

However, the analyst doubted that the proceedings against Klitschko would lead to some real consequences, since the parties to the conflict could come to an agreement. Dudchak believes that "the current government has no desire to bring specific individuals to the landing."

“They are primarily interested in tangible assets and cash. They will agree among themselves - which means that Klitschko will feel normal at large. True, I have to share it. And if they don’t agree, his position will simply worsen, ”the expert summed up.