Chornyshov was not requested to be arrested because no risk of escape was seen, - Kryvonos

Chornyshov was not requested to be arrested because no risk of escape was seen, - Kryvonos

The investigation did not request the arrest of the Deputy Prime Minister of National Unity, Oleksiy Chernyshov, as it did not consider there to be a risk of his flight. Moreover, he still returned from a business trip and appeared at the NABU summons, stated in an interview by the Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, Semen Kryvonos.

«It should be understood that a preventive measure is not a punishment, but a preventive step to ensure that a person does not avoid participating in the investigation. The pre-trial investigation should be completed, the case should be transferred to the court, and a final verdict should be reached,» noted the head of the bureau.

When asked why the investigation did not wait for Chernyshov’s return from the business trip to announce suspicions to all the suspects simultaneously, Kryvonos explained that Chernyshov’s former advisor, Maksym Horbatyuk, was about to leave the country, so action had to be taken.

Regarding the clarification of whether there was interference in NABU’s work during the investigation to «hush up» the case, the head of the bureau evaded a direct answer: «The Deputy Prime Minister did not evade responsibility. So, no one managed to do anything, even if they tried. And I emphasize once again, NABU and SAPO are completely independent bodies. When we see a result in the case, what kind of agreements can be discussed? It’s all rumors and conspiracy theories.»