Former Prosecutor General Kravchenko is in hiding in Austria following his dismissal, - media. PHOTO
Former Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who did not return from a business trip, is currently in the Austrian capital, Vienna.
This is reported in an investigation by ‘Ukrainska Pravda’ journalist Mykhailo Tkach, as reported by Censor.NET.
What the journalists have established
On the night of 14 September, Kravchenko travelled abroad in an official car under the pretext of a business trip to a PACE session in Paris. That same morning, a video appeared on the Prosecutor General’s official pages containing a statement about the signing of a notice of suspicion against NABU Director Semen Kryvonos.
It later emerged that PACE had not confirmed the participation of Kravchenko or his representatives in the relevant meeting. The official end date of the business trip — 18 September — had passed, yet Kravchenko had not returned to work at the Office of the Prosecutor General.
The key evidence of Kravchenko’s stay in Vienna came in the form of extracts from Austria’s Central Register of Residence (Zentrales Melderegister, ZMR). Thanks to sources in political circles, "Ukrainska Pravda" managed to obtain an extract from this register, which recently included entries regarding the registration of Kravchenko and his wife, Oleksandra Kravchenko.
Possible motivation behind Kryvonos’s suspicions
According to Ukrainska Pravda, Kravchenko’s wife travelled abroad separately, via Moldova, as early as 12 September.
Journalists are drawing attention to the possible underlying motive behind the former Prosecutor General’s actions: having signed the charge against the NABU director on the eve of his own disappearance, Kravchenko can now claim that the charge, prepared by the anti-corruption authorities against him, is allegedly revenge for that move.
Residence in Vienna
According to the information in the records, the couple are listed as having the same current main place of residence (Aktueller Hauptwohnsitz) – Jordangasse 7/12, 1010 Vienna. This is a building in the very heart of Vienna’s historic centre, near the palace.
"But even in Vienna, it seems Kravchenko has committed violations. After all, the address listed in the document from the Austrian register is not the former Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s place of residence, as required by law… Kravchenko and his wife may have taken this step in order to conceal their actual place of residence in Vienna. Secondly, his registration in Vienna may indicate that Kravchenko plans to regularise his status in the Austrian capital, which, as is well known, does not extradite citizens suspected of crimes in Ukraine," writes "UP".
It is noted that flat No. 12 in the building at Jordangasse 7 is not a residence but the office of CS Corporate Services GmbH. On its own website, the firm offers four services: domiciliation, i.e. a registered office for Austrian limited liability companies; secretarial services; management services; and the sale of ‘shelf’ companies, which are already registered and ready to be transferred to a new owner.
At least two dozen other legal entities are registered at the same address. Among them are subsidiaries of genuine international companies, such as Duracell Austria GmbH and KPLER GmbH, but the majority are little-known: Numitor, Febania, Nobeka, Furninet, Code Panda IT Solutions and others.
Kravchenko’s resignation and the allegations against Kryvonos
- Earlier, Ruslan Kravchenko stated that he had signed a notice of suspicion against NABU Director Semen Kryvonos and a person close to the head of the SAPO.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the Rada to immediately support the dismissal of Ruslan Kravchenko from the post of Prosecutor General.
- NABU and the SAPO described Kravchenko’s actions as a continuation of a systematic attack on anti-corruption bodies.
- According to the Centre for Political and Legal Reforms, Kravchenko left the country on the night of 14 September.
- Subsequently, the Prosecutor General stated that he is currently abroad on a business trip.
- According to sources at Censor.NET, Kravchenko registered his trip abroad as an official business trip to Brussels.
- Subsequently, Prosecutor General Kravchenko stated that NABU Director Kryvonos is suspected of a sham adoption to evade criminal liability.
- On 14 September, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered the suspension of Ruslan Kravchenko from the post of Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
- The Office of the Prosecutor General denied reports that a notice of suspicion had been served on Semen Kryvonos.
- Kravchenko accused the NABU of attempting to have the notice of suspicion against the bureau’s director, Semen Kryvonos, revoked through backroom deals.
- On 15 September, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree dismissing Ruslan Kravchenko from the post of Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
