Fugitive MPs Dmytruk and Odarchenko expelled from Rada committees
10 October 2024 13:30
The Verkhovna Rada has expelled MPs Andriy Odarchenko and Artem Dmytruk from parliamentary committees. This was reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak.
Odarchenko was expelled from the Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy, and MP Artem Dmytruk from the Committee on Law Enforcement.
“The Rada supported the expulsion of two fugitive MPs from the Committees.) Odarchenko to be expelled from the Anti-Corruption Committee. Dmytruk should be expelled from the Law Enforcement Committee. Now they are free fugitives unencumbered by unnecessary committee work,” Zheleznyak said.
The decision was supported by 245 MPs.
It should be noted that on 7 October, MP Oleksiy Honcharenko reported on his Telegram channel that Artem Dmytruk, who went abroad and is a suspect in a number of cases in Ukraine, participated in the meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee via video link and even voted.
What is known about the fugitive MPs
It became known that Artem Dmytruk had fled Ukraine on 24 August. It was reported that he had crossed the border with Moldova. Previously, he had been actively promoting pro-Russian interests, in particular, defending the Moscow Patriarchate. on 25 August, Dmytruk was served a notice of suspicion for the attacks on a law enforcement officer and a soldier.
on 2 September, the SBI served suspicion notices to those who helped Dmytruk escape. on 19 September, Dmytruk told how he fled Ukraine. According to him, he first walked to Moldova and then flew to Rome.
on 25 September, it became known that Dmytruk was in London – he had already been detained by British law enforcement. According to the MP, Ukraine is demanding his extradition. Dmytruk also says that the British government has provided him with protection. His family lives in London, where Dmytruk arrived from Italy.
on 26 September, the Office of the Prosecutor General announced that it was preparing materials for Dmytruk’s extradition.
Andriy Odarchenko also travelled abroad in August. The Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office assumed that the MP had left Ukraine via Zakarpattia region. Therefore, the prosecutor requested that the defendant be put on the international wanted list.
Law enforcement officers suspect Odarchenko of attempting to bribe the head of the State Agency for Reconstruction, Mustafa-Masi Nayem. According to the investigation, Odarchenko offered Nayem a bribe in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, which is equivalent to $50,000.
In exchange, the MP asked for assistance in obtaining funds from the fund for the liquidation of the consequences of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation to repair the infrastructure facility under his control. Nayem cooperated with the investigation and was a whistleblower.
