Gold, euros and luxury watches: France opens case after Piskun’s searches
22 December 22:56
During searches at the villa of former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Svyatoslav Piskun in France, law enforcement officers seized significant amounts of cash, jewelry and luxury goods. This was reported by a source in law enforcement agencies, ZN.UA reported, "Komersant Ukrainian"
According to the source, the following items were found and seized at Piskun’s villa:
- 90 thousand euros in cash
- three kilograms of gold;
- 18 luxury watches of well-known brands with a total value of more than 1 million euros.
According to the interlocutors, the owner could not confirm the origin of these assets.
Why the French police intervened
As noted, Sviatoslav Piskun did not provide:
- bank documents on the purchase of gold;
- confirmation of the legal origin of the cash;
- customs documents for the import of expensive watches into France.
In this regard, French law enforcement officers detained Piskun and opened criminal proceedings under the article on money laundering.
The issue of possible formal charges is currently being decided.
What is known about the further fate of the case
According to information from the former Prosecutor General’s entourage, he was later released, but the investigation continues. The French side continues to verify the origin of the seized funds and valuables.
As a reminder, on December 16, the State Bureau of Investigation conducted investigative actions at Piskun’s villa in the suburbs of Nice in connection with the investigation of the case against oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky on suspicion of organizing an attempted murder of lawyer Serhiy Karpenko in 2003. According to ZN.UA’s sources in the investigative bodies, Piskun is suspected of receiving an undue benefit to close the case of the attempted murder.
At the time, the sources reported that a number of extremely interesting documents were found in the former Prosecutor General’s house, but they were not related to the case of suspicion against Kolomoisky.
And on Wednesday, December 17, law enforcement officers came to the notary’s office, which was processing the deal on Piskun’s purchase of real estate, with searches.
Who is Sviatoslav Piskun?
Svyatoslav Piskun has served three times as Prosecutor General of Ukraine:
- in 2002-2003,
- in 2004-2005,
- and for one month in 2007.
In addition, in the summer of 2020, he worked for a month as an advisor to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova.
