Bakhmatyuk to G7 envoys: Sytnyk's unlawful actions related to economic interests regarding my company

Oleg Bakhmatyuk has appealed to the G7 envoys with a statement on unlawful infringements by senior officials of the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) on rights and freedoms in their own interests to gain control over one of the largest agricultural companies in Ukraine. The relevant appeal addressed to the ambassadors of the G7 countries (the United States, Japan, Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, and Canada) has been posted on the official website of Oleg Bakhmatyuk's UkrLandFarming company. In the letter to the G7 envoys, Bakhmatyuk writes the NABU case against him is connected with numerous procedural violations by the investigating authorities and with the personal interests of senior state officials, as reported by Ukrainian News. 

According to Bakhmatyuk, these individuals include NABU Director Artem Sytnyk who refuses to comply with the final court ruling and close the case, which was resumed by the decision of former Deputy Prosecutor General Vitaliy Kasko with numerous violations of the law after it had already been probed and closed by court decisions over the lack of corpus delicti.

In particular, Bakhmatyuk says that "based on the facts known to me and the publications of journalistic investigations of reputable Ukrainian media, the unlawful re-opening of the case against me was initiated by former Head of the President's Office Andriy Bohdan, who has business interests in the agricultural sector. The subject of his interest was my agricultural company, which is one of the largest in Ukraine." Bakhmatyuk says that "NABU Director Artem Sytnyk is the executor of this order."

The businessman also said his company and he personally had suffered from unlawful harassments, as confirmed by a court decision, and the probe itself had taken place with numerous gross violations of the law since September last year.

Other violations of the norms and principles of law are taking place now. NABU and the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office do not comply with the final, not subject to appeal, decision of Kyiv's Pechersky district court and the Office of the Prosecutor General to close the case."

He believes he has every prospect of receiving a positive decision of international courts on violation of his rights by NABU, but "in the context of a flagrant violation of the law and human rights in Ukraine by officials, such decisions of international courts in our favor may be taken too late and the company may come under the control of people associated with the government, in violation of the rights of international investors of the company."

The businessman told the ambassadors that "absolutely unlawful and prejudiced actions of NABU Director Artem Sytnyk have all signs of collusion. I do not rule out the possibility of transferring under the control of other people my agricultural company, which employs 27,000 people, which produces 1% of GDP and which has paid UAH 7.7 billion (US$288.5 million) in taxes for the past three years. Artem Sytnyk's unlawful actions are related to economic interests regarding my company."

As reported earlier, Kyiv's Pechersky district court declared the resumption of case against Bakhmatyuk by former Deputy Prosecutor General Vitaliy Kasko illegal. The case was opened due to the alleged misuse of refinancing funds provided by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) to VAB Bank during the 2014 banking crisis. However, findings of examinations of the Deposit Guarantee Fund and statements by the NBU confirmed that all refinancing funds had been spent for their intended purpose, i.e. they were received by bank depositors.