PGO requests court to try Azarov and Stavytskyi in absentia, prosecutor general says

The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine requests the court to start trying ex-Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and ex-Energy Minister Eduard Stavytskyi in absentia.

Ukraine's Prosecutor General Yurii Lutsenko said at a briefing on embezzled assets recovery, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrainski Novyny.

"As for Azarov, we have completed the pre-trial investigation and submitted a petition to the court for their conviction in absentia. The same applies to Stavytskyi. We have completed the investigation and requested the court to convict him in absentia," he said.

Requests to initiate probe in absentia against former Acting Prime Minister Serhii Arbuzov, ex-Minister of Inland Revenue Oleksandr Klymenko and businessman Serhii Kurchenko will also be submitted to the court in the near future.

As for ex-member of the Verkhovna Rada Yurii Ivaniuschenko (Party of Regions faction), Lutsenko noted that the investigation of criminal case filed against him was significantly complicated.

According to the prosecutor general, the key witness who testified against Ivaniuschenko in case of forcible takeover of the 7th kilometer market in the Odesa region has withdrawn his testimony during the trial.

However, Lutsenko stressed that the assets owned by the ex-MP were still under distrainment while the investigation against him was ongoing.

As reported, Ukraine's law enforcement agencies brought a number of charges against Azarov and Stavytskyi. They are currently hiding in Russia and Israel respectively.