Tymoshenko’s preventive measure began to be selected: online broadcast of the VAKS meeting
16 January 08:56
On Friday, January 16, Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court began a hearing on the election of a preventive measure for People’s Deputy Yulia Tymoshenko, leader of the Batkivshchyna faction, who announced the day before that her bank accounts had been frozen without a court decision. She reported this on Facebook, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to the politician, the funds were frozen just as she was preparing to pay a possible bail, which, as previously reported by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, the prosecution plans to ask the court to set at 50 million hryvnia.
“Accounts blocked without a court order”
Tymoshenko claims that the funds in her accounts were of legal origin and were intended specifically for the execution of court decisions.
“My accounts were frozen without any court decision. This happened just as I was preparing to pay bail in a clearly politically motivated case,” she said.
According to her, these funds were received as compensation for political persecution in the past.
Allegations of “political persecution”
The leader of Batkivshchyna called the explanation for blocking the accounts a manifestation of “anti-corruption justice by international fraudsters” and assured that such actions would not force her to leave the country or give up political activity.
“These methods will not force me to flee or stop fighting,” Tymoshenko wrote.
She also reiterated that she considers the criminal proceedings against her to be politically motivated.
What Tymoshenko is suspected of
As a reminder, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced that Yulia Tymoshenko was suspected of offering illegal benefits to members of parliament for voting for or against certain bills in the Verkhovna Rada.
As part of this case, law enforcement officers previously conducted searches at the office of the Batkivshchyna party. The investigation claims that this was an attempt to influence parliamentary decisions through financial incentives.
When the court will choose a preventive measure
Yulia Tymoshenko’s preventive measure is to be chosen by the High Anti-Corruption Court on Friday, January 16. The SAP has already stated that it will insist on bail of UAH 50 million.
Tymoshenko herself insists that she is ready to comply with any lawful court decision, but demands an explanation for the freezing of her accounts without a court verdict.
Tymoshenko has already arrived at the court hearing at which her preventive measure is to be decided.
What Tymoshenko says about the NABU charges
The leader of Batkivshchyna refuted the NABU accusations, calling them unfounded and unproven. According to her, more than 30 detectives in full gear and armed came to the party’s office at 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 13. The MP claims that she was alone in the office at the time, which did not even have security. According to her, law enforcement officers arrived at the party’s office in five buses.
She stated that NABU employees did not have search warrants with them.
The MP also said that her parliamentary documents and personal savings, which she claims are reflected in her declaration, were seized.
What is known about the Tymoshenko case
On January 13, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office reported that they had exposed the leader of one of the Verkhovna Rada factions for offering illegal benefits to MPs from other political forces in exchange for voting “for” or “against” specific bills.
The SAPO statement emphasizes that this is a preliminary legal assessment and that only a court can make a final conclusion. The preliminary classification is Part 4 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (offering, promising, or providing an illegal benefit to a public official), which carries a penalty of 4 to 8 years’ imprisonment.
People’s Deputy Oleksiy Goncharenko stated that, according to his information, the SAP had exposed the leader of the Batkivshchyna faction, Yulia Tymoshenko. According to the MP, this concerns negotiations with individual MPs regarding their transition or informal joining of the faction in exchange for money, and the materials were allegedly transferred to the NABU. These statements are the position of an individual politician and do not imply a finding of guilt.
Tymoshenko already had experience of criminal prosecution.
The leader of the Batkivshchyna party, Yulia Tymoshenko, has previously been under investigation on several occasions and has experience of serving a sentence. She was first placed in a detention center in 2001, during the presidency of Leonid Kuchma. This occurred after she became an active opponent of the government. At that time, Tymoshenko was charged with gas smuggling and spent approximately 40 days behind bars.
The second high-profile episode occurred in 2011, during Viktor Yanukovych’s presidency. Tymoshenko was accused of exceeding her official powers when concluding gas contracts with Russia’s Gazprom in 2009. The court sentenced her to seven years in prison.
In fact, Yulia Tymoshenko was imprisoned from August 2011 to February 2014 — a total of about two and a half years. European institutions actively demanded her release, and mass protests were held in Ukraine in her support.
What is known about the Batkivshchyna party
The All-Ukrainian Union Batkivshchyna is a Ukrainian centrist political party. It is led by Ukrainian MP and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
The party was first represented in the Verkhovna Rada in 2002. Since 2008, Batkivshchyna has been a member of the supervisory board of the European People’s Party.
In the 2012 parliamentary elections, the political force participated as part of the united opposition under the Batkivshchyna brand. The list was headed by the then leader of the Front for Change party, Arseniy Yatsenyuk. In 2013, the Front for Change and Reforms and Order parties joined Batkivshchyna.
In the 2014 Verkhovna Rada elections, Yulia Tymoshenko, Nadiya Savchenko, Ihor Lutsenko, Serhiy Sobolev, and Alona Shkrum were among the top five on the electoral list.
Before the early parliamentary elections in 2019, the party formed a political alliance with Serhiy Taruta’s Osnova party and former SBU head Valentyn Nalyvaichenko. The top five on the list at that time were Yulia Tymoshenko, Serhiy Taruta, Valentin Nalyvaichenko, Serhiy Sobolev, and Olena Kondratyuk.
In the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the IX convocation, the Batkivshchyna party is represented by a faction of 25 people’s deputies.
