“The case against me is fabricated”, – former deputy head of Dnipro Regional Military District Administration Volodymyr Orlov made a statement on the eve of the trial
17 March 19:29
The High Anti-Corruption Court has scheduled a hearing on March 18 to consider the case of Volodymyr Orlov, former first deputy head of the Dnipropetrovs’k regional military administration, for allegedly extorting illegal benefits. Orlov himself denies the charges and said there were “signs of artificial persecution,” [Komersant ] reports, citing an interview with the former official with Ukrainian News.
“In fact, there is no bribe, the state and the company have not suffered any losses. The only thing is the applicant who was supposed to provoke me to take the money. However, this did not happen by my will either,” Volodymyr Orlov told the publication
He said that the indictment against him states that “there are no victims” and “the damage has not been established”. Also, “there is no document in the case that would confirm the transfer of illegal benefits to Orlov by Oleksiy Torop”.
“This is another proof of the falsity of the accusation, which even the detectives did not take seriously, because they understood that I was not going to take any money,” the former official said
He believes that an important fact of his innocence is the testimony of the director of the company on whose behalf Orlov allegedly received the bribe.
“NABU agent Torop, whom I have known for a long time as Oleksiy Honchar, seemed to be working in the interests of this company. So, she testified that she knew neither Torop nor Honchar. In fact, neither does any of the OVA employees or I. This particular land issue was handled by the company’s representative, Oleh Podenko. During the interrogation, he also confirmed that he did not know Honchar-Torop,” Orlov said
However, despite these facts, the NABU, according to the former official, insists on continuing the pre-trial investigation “in order to discredit Orlov.”
“I am convinced that the case is a paid-for one. NABU’s task is to discredit me as a civil servant, as a citizen of Ukraine. The detectives used a classic provocation to do this. However, because of my position, they could not bring it to a logical conclusion even under ideal conditions for them,” the accused states
Among the possible motives for discrediting him is the fact that on the eve of the NABU’s serving him with the suspicion, he received offers to head the regional administration of one of the regions after his dismissal from the position in the Dnipro regional administration.
“My candidacy is being considered for a leadership position in one of the regions. And in the morning, NABU detectives showed up at my doorstep. Would you say it was a coincidence? I don’t think so,” Orlov says
He adds that he does not rule out that “the case against him could have been fabricated by the head of the Dnipro Regional State Administration, Serhiy Lysak, in collusion with the ‘NABU agent’ Oleksiy Torop,” after the official refused to sign decisions in favor of the company several times.
In October 2024, the NABU and the SAPO notified Volodymyr Orlov of suspicion of requesting an undue benefit for the allocation of a forest plot to a private company for long-term use.
