Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Glum Yanuk

Yesterday I mentioned "Obozrevatel" journalist Tatyana Chornovil's questioning of Viktor Yanukovych at a press conference, about his shady appropriation of state property and land on which his swanky new private residence is being constructed.

Today Unian run this:

Tymoshenko takes back residence put together by Yanukovych

Today Yulia Tymoshenko announced at a press briefing that the Kabmin has altered the resolution to transfer the [government] "Mezhyhirya" residence, which is currently occupied by former premier Viktor Yanukovych, to the assets of the state company "Nadra Ukrainy". [This was part of a scam enabling Yanukovych to build a swanky new residence for himself, complete with 'mini-zoo', greenhouses for growing bananas, a dredged waterway, deepened moorings, a private road to a hunting forest etc. etc. on the grounds of a government dacha. This gross abuse of power, involving well over 100 hectares of prime residential land was exposed by Tatyana Chornovil. Details in my posting from last August here]

Tymoshenko expressed confidence that at each session of government it would abolish the illegal decisions taken by the previous KabMin.

"Having cancelled the resolution, we have returned 140 hectares of land back to the state. This is "Mezhyhirya," said Tymoshenko.

"After we've worked for a month on revisions, no lobbyist resolution will be left from the Yanukovych government's [time in office]. Everything will be cancelled, and after this their illegality will be proven in courts of law."

She also confirmed that in the event that any of Yanukovych's team appeals to courts of law to challenge the new KabMin's decisions, they would request state prosecutors to open criminal cases against the 'corruptioneers'. "So I think it's possible there won't even be anybody who will appeal to the courts."

No wonder Yanik looked glum when questioned by Tatyana Chornovil the other day. I wonder if he has tried his old prison clothes for fit in recent times. He knows pres. will save his bacon though.

p.s. Tatyana Chornovil's latest article is entitled "Tymoshenko pays off her sponsors".

Here are the opening paragraphs:

The last three appointments of the [current] KabMin have become the most scandalous and odious. The structure that controls the most valuable asset in the land - the gas transit system, i.e. state company "Naftohaz Ukrainy" is to be headed by yesterday's 'Kuchmist' Oleh Dubina.

The structure which feeds the budget with cash, i.e. the tax collection administration, is to be headed by Tymoshenko's sponsor and co-owner of 'BrokBusinessBank' and also kum [godparent] of the president, Serhiy Buryak.

And finally, the customs service, which is also a fundamental source of income for the budget, is to be headed by the mysterious Valeriy Khoroshkovskiy, whom opponents suspect of being an agent of Russian oligarchs in Ukraine..

The fearless Chornovil certainly does not pull her punches does she..

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Was this the only person to make a fuss about these appointments? Surely in any rule of the law democracy the head of the tax admiministration which is responisble for collecting state revenues impartially would be headed by a civil servant with the relevant experience and qualitifications not by some businessman with his own interests who has never worked in this area before. Why has he been chosen? why should other business people pay their taxes to this guy, why would they assume he's collecting fairly?

Anonymous said...

Cool - this is how it should function. Journalist breaks a story and it leads to change. Very cool. Thanks for reporting on this LEvko. You are the best!

IIU