Ex-Justice Minister Lavrynovych’s case referred to court, - PGO

The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine (PGO) referred to the court the indictment against ex-Justice Minister Oleksandr Lavrynovych.

Censor.NET reports citing the statement by the PGO's press service.

"The Department of Special Investigations of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine has completed the pretrial investigation and referred to court the indictment against ex-Justice Minister Lavrynovych, his deputy, as well as accountant-general, CEO of the Financial Planning Analysis and Accounting Department of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine accused of embezzlement of public funds in the amount of 8.5 million hryvnia ($1.1 million at the time).

"The funds were embezzled through unjustified and unlawful purchase of services by the Ministry of Justice from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates (USA) under the guise of the need for legal aid in preparation for the consideration of the case of Tymoshenko vs. Ukraine heard by the European Court of Human Rights. In fact, this was done in order to conceal the criminal violations of the law while hearing Tymoshenko's case with elements of crimes covered by part 5 of article 191 (large scale embezzlement) and part 1 of article 366 of the Criminal Code (forgery by an official) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," the statement reads.

The agency noted that the indictment against the aforementioned persons was referred to the Shevchenkivskyi district court of Kyiv Oct. 7, 2016.

The PGO also added that part 5 of article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine that covered the actions of the accused stipulates punishment of 7 to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.

As reported, Lavrynovych was served notice of suspicion under this case a year ago. The court imposed a bail against the ex-minister as a measure of restraint which he subsequently posted. Lavrynovych was served revised notice of suspicion in August 2016.