Newly appointed State Fiscal Service Acting Head Prodan was under investigation for protecting ‘walnut mafia’, – Skhemy project

Myroslav Prodan, who was appointed acting head of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine on March 3, was under investigation in three criminal cases filed into the so-called "walnut mafia".

As reported by Censor.NET, Skhemy project journalists wrote on Facebook.

"Six months ago, Prodan was redeployed in Kyiv from Vinnytsia, where he was in charge of the Vinnitsa region fiscal service. We then found out that he was under investigation for protecting the so-called "walnut mafia". He was charged with abuse of office, bribetaking, large-scale embezzlement (according to the formal response we got from the prosecutor's office July 12).

"July 13, just a few hours after we have an interview with Prodan, he sent us the extracts from the pre-trial investigations register confirming that all charges against him had already been dropped. That means that three criminal cases filed against him were dismissed 13 days after Prodan had been appointed Nasirov's deputy," the journalists said.

Earlier, NABU and SAP agents arrived at Feofania hospital to serve an indictment for criminal offence against Ukraine's chief taxman Roman Nasirov. The doctors barred the investigators and prosecutor from entering the ward saying Nasirov had allegedly suffered a heart attack.

Nasirov is accused of taking unreasonable decisions on restructuring rental fees for the extraction of minerals, which helped Ukraine's fugitive MP Oleksandr Onyshchenko implement corruption schemes he is being charged with.

Onyshchenko said in turn: "The investigation will not prove anything: my relationship with Nasirov involved no money."

Later, it bacame known the prosecution was preparing a request for choosing a preventive measure against Nasirov. Meanwhile, the lawyers said Nasirov's state had deteriorated, and he was being operated.

March 3, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine suspended Nasirov from office pending investigation. Myroslav Prodan was appointed acting head of the State Fiscal Service.