Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Background to Shcherban murder from 'Forbes.ua'


The authoritative 'Forbes.ua' have posted an enlightening article - "The rise and fall of Yevhen Shcherban's business empire" 

The article provides background to the conflict over gas between  ISD, Industrial Union of Donbas, and their business rivals, Yulia Tymoshenko's UESU, which allegedly culminated in Shcherban's murder in 1996.

Here is one portion of the article:

"Did Lazarenko and Tymoshenko have a motive to eliminate the Donetsk magnate [Shcherban]? 

There are significant reasons to doubt this. By the time of the murder the conflict between ISD and UESU had been settled. Most companies in the region had signed contracts for the supply of gas from ISD, which purchased a large portion of the fuel from UESU. "All conflicts and misunderstandings between UESU and ISD were resolved before the tragic death of Yevhen Shcherban," - confirms a former vice president of UESU, Oleh Bespalov. 

[Serhiy]Taruta [the former CEO of ISD and Shcherban's partner] is also sceptical about the involvement of Lazarenko and Tymoshenko in the murder. In his opinion, the prime minister/corruptioneer is being excessively demonised."

Tymoshenko's name has never figured in the murder of Shcherban since the dreadful events at Donetsk airport over a decade and a half ago. None of Shcherban's political or business associates from the early nineties have ever pointed the finger at her...

But last April Yevhen's son, Ruslan, during a hesitant and rather embarrassing press conference, for the first time publicly accused Tymoshenko of involvement in the death of his father. However, Ruslan was allegedly blackmailed to make such an allegation by prosecutors after a hunting accident during which a friend of his was shot dead. Despite denials by the Prosecutor-General's office, Ruslan's declarations, so late in the game, should be treated with great suspicion.

No comments: