US Congresswoman requests that Biden give an briefing on the security of negotiations with Yermak
"EUROPEAN PRAVDA" — Saturday, 9 July 2022, 08:35
A member of the US House of Representatives, Victoria Spartz, on Friday asked US President Joe Biden to provide a briefing on the due diligence procedures carried out in relation to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andrii Yermak.
This was reported by "European Pravda".
Part of Victoria Spartz's letter to the president is redacted in the published version; the content of this fragment has not been disclosed. However, in the general description of the letter on the Congresswoman’s website, there is a brief mention "based on a variety of intelligence, [of] actions taken by Mr. Yermak in Ukraine and his alleged dealings in connection with Russia." These allgations are not mentioned in the open part of the letter.
The congresswoman also mentions in the letter that Mr Yermak appointed Oleh Tatarov as his deputy for law enforcement, who "has been delaying the appointment of an independent anti-corruption prosecutor for over a year, rendering the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) dysfunctional."
In a letter to Biden, Spartz writes that "Mr. Yermak raises many concerns with a variety of people in the United States and internationally, it is believed that he is highly regarded by your National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan."
She continues: "As President Zelensky works very hard to build alliances with the west and our country, it is our responsibility to inform him if we might have any concerns with key people iaround him. It is also our obligation to the brave Ukrainian soldiers and strong Ukrainian people fighting this fight for freedom and international order for all of us," concludes Spartz.
Reference: Victoria Spartz is the first member of the US Congress of Ukrainian origin. She was born in the Chernihiv region and moved to the United States at the age of 22.
Spartz represents the conservative wing of the US Republican Party. On 8 November of this year, elections to the House of Representatives and the Senate will be held in the United States.
Background:
- On 1 December, 2020, it became known that NABU was investigating a case concerning the deputy head of the Office of the President, Oleg Tatarov. The investigation concerns Tatarov's possible involvement in the falsification of an expert testimony in the case of a former Member of the Ukrainian Parliament and developer, Maksym Mykytas.
- On 14 December, 2020, the Pechersk Court decided to transfer the case involving Tatarov from NABU to the State Bureau of Investigation. NABU replied that such decisions are against the law.
- On 18 December, 2020, Maksym Hryshchuk, the acting head of the Specialised Anti-Corrution Prosecutor’s Office (SAP), signed a notification that Tatarov was under suspicion. The notification was meant to be handed over on December 18. NABU investigators also received the right to detain Tatarov and conduct searches in the Office of the President and at Tatarov's place of residence
- On 21 December 2020, the adviser to the head of the President's Office, Mykhailo Podoliak, stated that Tatarov issued a statement about the suspension of his official duties.
- In December 2020, Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Symonenko took Tatarov's case from the anti-corruption authorities and handed it over to the Security Service of Ukraine.
- The winner of the competition for the post of head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau investigator Oleksandr Klymenko, said that if he had been the head of the SAP, the case of the deputy head of the President's Office, Oleg Tatarov, would have been investigated differently.
- In January 2022, the Shevchenkiv District Court of Kyiv ordered the prosecutors of the Prosecutor General's Office to close the criminal proceedings against Oleg Tatarov, the deputy head of the President's Office.
