Ukraine court issues arrest warrant for former lawmaker in asset laundering case PHOTO

Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court has issued an arrest warrant in absentia for a former member of parliament from the Party of Regions, according to the country’s Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP).

The SAP press service did not name the individual, but Ukrainian media outlets, including Politika Strany, reported that the warrant concerns Yuriy Ivanyushchenko, a former member of the Verkhovna Rada who was part of the political circle of ex-President Viktor Yanukovych.

The case relates to the alleged legalisation of assets obtained through criminal means, involving nine land plots near Kyiv valued at more than 160 million hryvnias (approximately $3.5 million), according to investigators.

Authorities say the land was transferred through affiliated companies during a corporate dispute over the “Stolichny” agricultural market in 2021 and later re-registered under various entities for development purposes. Investigators also allege that an agreement was reached between Ivanyushchenko and a developer on joint land use, with a representative of the former lawmaker later listed among the beneficiaries of the companies holding the assets.

In March, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and SAP conducted searches at judicial institutions and the Office of the Prosecutor General in connection with earlier proceedings involving Ivanyushchenko, including the closure of a case against him and the unfreezing of Swiss bank accounts reportedly holding more than €70 million.

Ivanyushchenko left Ukraine after the 2014 political upheaval. Ukrainian authorities previously accused him of large-scale embezzlement of state funds and involvement in the alleged takeover of the Odesa market “7th Kilometre.” He was removed from Ukraine’s wanted list in 2019 following the closure of a criminal case by regional prosecutors.

By Sabina Mammadli