NABU: Military prosecutor Kulyk joined in conducting “Kurchenko’s case” after he had been served a notice of suspicion

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Kyiv, July 14, 2016. On December 25, 2015, detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) started preliminary investigations into the illegal enrichment of the ATO military prosecutor Kostyantyn Kulyk, basing on the appeal of MP Vitaliy Kupriy and numerous publications and investigative reporting. Investigative actions lasted until May and included the study of documents containing notary, banking and other secrets protected by law. On May 23, 2016, Artem Sytnyk, director of National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, notified the Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine – Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Nazar Holodnytskyy that Kostyantyn Kulyk is under suspicion. Four days later, on May 27, the Prosecutor General’s Office added the ATO military prosecutor Kostyantyn Kulyk to 12 prosecutors engaged in conducting “Kurchenko’s case.” This was informed by Artem Sytnyk during a briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center. “[Four days] after it became known about the suspicion, an urgent decision was taken to include Kulyk in conducting some high-profile cases in addition to 12 prosecutors. Thereafter, it is suggested that our proceedings are supposedly related to the fact that Kulyk is investigating the Kurchenko’s case. However, he was served with a notice of suspicion prior to being included in the group of prosecutors. His inclusion in the group and “brushup” were to make him out a hero, and to accuse us of fulfilling somebody’s order,” emphasized Mr. Sytnyk.

According to the NABU director, in June, the NABU detectives repeatedly summoned Kulyk for questioning. However, he did not show up for questioning. “Instead, the Prosecutor General’s Office each time sent letters informing that Kulyk cannot show up for questioning because he “is conducting immediate investigation actions” and “is away on business in another region of the state” as prosecutor for “Kurchenko’s case,” noted the NABU director.

Mr. Sytnyk informed that on June 29, the NABU detectives searched the place of Kulyk’s actual residence. Immediately afterwards he was served with a notice of suspicion. On July 4, Solomyansky District Court of Kyiv removed Kulyk from office for a period of two months as a preventive measure. On July 13, the Board of Appeals Court of Kyiv reinstated the ATO military prosecutor suspected of illicit enrichment in office.
During the briefing Maxim Gryschuk, the first deputy head of the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, made public the recording of phone conversations in which Kostyantyn Kulyk together with the Prosecutor General’s Office officials tries to “brush up” and to decide the case in their favor. He is also planning to go for a trip at the time appointed for questioning, and is scheduling meetings in Kyiv during his planned trip. “They are throwing mud at our detectives and prosecutors, but no one has explained the origin of the property at the cost of nearly three million. No one is going to comment anything. Perhaps, this is exactly the thing from which he should begin his defense instead of “brushing up,” throwing mud at the police and trying to create an image of the hero,” stressed Artem Sytnyk. “Instead of hearing at least one reasonable argument, over two weeks we were facing a dirty war, which brought nothing but empty words,” noted Nazar Holodnytskyy.