Odesa mayor arrested in corruption case
Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court has ruled
to arrest Odesa
Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov for 60 days with a UAH 13 million bail ($352,000),
over his suspected unlawful involvement with privatizing the Kraian factory in
2016, Transparency International Ukraine reported via Telegram on May 4.
Trukhanov's lawyer, Oleksandr Lysak told public broadcaster Suspilne that his client will appeal the decision and will not post bail.
“Of course, we are not satisfied with the decision,” said Lysak.
“We have the right to appeal, and that is good. This is not like the previous decision, where we could not appeal. Let's see the results of the appeal and whether there were sufficient grounds for changing the preventive measure and applying such a rigorous preventive measure (arrest and detention).”
Transparency International Ukraine legal advisor Oksana Ohiyenko reported that Trukhanov was taken into custody in the courtroom.
Trukhanov is accused of embezzling UAH 92 million ($2.5 million) of state funds during the privatization of bankrupt industrial enterprise Kraian in 2016.
On April 25, Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Action Center reported that Trukhanov had traveled abroad at least six times since February 2022. According to the prosecution, he poses a significant flight risk.
The mayor denies any wrongdoing and accused the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office of political pressure.
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