UP journalist Mykhailo Tkach located Komarnytskyi in Vienna. However, the former councilman refused a face-to-face interview, accusing Tkach of “espionage.” In a comment to the reporter, Komarnytskyi denied all allegations, calling the criminal case politically motivated and dismissing the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) investigation as “fake news.”
“I caught you while you were tailing my wife’s house, and gave you my phone number,” Komarnytskyi said in a statement.
“The matter you want to discuss is political and is being used as pressure on me as a lawyer. The previous media reports were clearly manipulative. I am open to civil dialogue. My proposal is simple: send me all your questions, and we will talk.”
In the written responses Komarnytskyi gave UP, he again emphasized that he is being politically persecuted, accused law enforcement officials of bias, and insisted that his work as a lawyer and adviser is limited to offering consultations and legal support.
On March 10, Bihus.Info obtained declassified wiretaps of Kyiv City Council members, Kyiv City State Administration officials, and other members of an informal criminal group involved in managing land distribution that worked for the so-called “Kyiv watcher,” Komarnytskyi.
On Feb. 6, NABU and SAPO conducted a large-scale operation aimed at exposing a criminal organization operating within the Kyiv City Council and involved corruption related to land distribution. NABU uncovered a group that illegally transferred land ownership through fictitious structures. Seven people were detained, including high-ranking officials and councilors.