Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies have served former Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Olha Stefanishyna with a new notice of suspicion. The High Anti-Corruption Court is currently considering a preventive measure for her.
The Center for Countering Corruption and Suspilne reported this.
The hearing is being held behind closed doors at the request of Stefanishyna’s lawyers. Details of the new suspicion have not yet been disclosed.
Stefanishyna was dismissed as Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States several days ago. In early July, media outlets reported that she had personally asked to end her diplomatic service due to personal circumstances.
At the same time, several media outlets, citing sources, reported that her replacement as ambassador could be connected to a criminal case. According to the BBC, the reason may have been the existence of criminal proceedings involving the official. It was not specified whether this concerned an existing case or a new one.
Last year, hromadske published an investigation into how Stefanishyna’s mother purchased an apartment in Kyiv for almost four times less than its market value.
Stefanishyna later explained that her parents had invested in the property back in 2019, when the price per square metre was 29,000 hryvnias. According to her, this accounted for the apartment’s significantly lower price.
Stefanishyna had previously also been served with a notice of suspicion in a corruption case concerning a tender for the procurement of services by the Ministry of Justice in 2013.
In addition, according to media reports, the former official’s ex-husband has presented himself in informal conversations as the shadow supervisor of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency office.
Stefanishyna stressed that her ex-husband was “a separate individual” who had no connection to her work or current life. She also said that she had not communicated with him following the Ukrainska Pravda investigation.
The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office subsequently opened criminal proceedings concerning Stefanishyna based on the facts presented in the Ukrainska Pravda report. However, no notice of suspicion in that case had previously been announced.
