OP officials may be behind blocking cancellation of Lozovyi’s "amendments".
The case of the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office, Oleh Tatarov, was closed using, among other things, the provision from the Lozovyi amendments.
This was reported by the Anti-Corruption Action Centre, Censor.NET reports.
"For the fourth year in a row, the current government has been unable to repeal the Lozovyi amendments, which have led to dozens, if not hundreds, of people avoiding responsibility for corruption. Among them may be Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Oleh Tatarov," the statement said.
The AntAC reminded that Tatarov's case was closed on 21 April 2022, probably due to the grounds provided for by Lozovyi's "amendments" - the expiration of the pre-trial investigation.
In February 2021, the investigating judge of the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv refused to extend the investigation. The rule on the need to extend the investigation periods to 6 and 12 months through investigating judges was part of Lozovyi's "amendments", the Anti-Corruption Action Centre added.
"Tatarov's case was closed using the 'most honest' investigators, prosecutors and courts. And also, the provision from Lozovyi's 'amendments' on the need to extend the investigation period in cases involving a suspect through investigating judges. Thanks to this provision, Tatarov escaped responsibility," explained Vitaliy Shabunin, Chairman of the AntAC Board.
According to the AntAC, former Prosecutor General Venediktova also helped Tatarov avoid liability by illegally transferring the case from the NABU to the SBU. In this case, Tatarov was suspected of aiding and abetting a bribe for falsifying an expert examination in a scheme to embezzle funds for the construction of apartments for the National Guard.
Last week, due to Lozovyi's amendments, the HACC closed the first episode of the Rotterdam+ case and the case of the so-called "smuggling king" Vadym Alperin. The losses to the state budget in these cases amount to UAH 19 billion 77 million.
"There are at least 30 corruption cases in the queue for closure due to Lozovyi's amendments. For example, there are several proceedings against PrivatBank, including those involving suspicions of over UAH 17 billion.
The AntAC is confident that without the support of those who got away with Lozovyi's amendments, this shameful provision would have been cancelled long ago," the statement reads.
