Kyiv, April 3th, 2014 – At a briefing in Ukrainian Crisis Media Center Peter Pielz, Leader of the Austrian Green Party, said Austrian banks are looking for 16 billion dollars all over Europe. At least 35 million out of them are connected to Ukrainian businesses.
“We have to look into so called investments into businesses by Kliuyev. An investigation of Firtash case is now going on in Vienna. We have to make sure these cases of corruption will be the last ones”, Mr. Pielz underlined.
He also claimed one of the cases under investigation is connected with Austrian Hype Group Alpe Adria and Ukrainian Oleh Bakhmatiuk, who was engaged in at least 7 companies. “We call these cases criminal, they are tax frauds. Some projects are connected with transportation. All of them are now in a public prosecutor’s office in Austria. I have asked our Ukrainian colleagues to help us investigate these cases, and I’m glad to find here such level of competence and cooperation”, Mr. Pilz said.
Viktor Chumak, MP of Ukraine, Head of the Parliamentary Committee for Fighting Corruption and Organized Crime, explained they are cooperating within a Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC). “Last year in December we sent many requests to our Austrian colleagues to investigate businesses of Kliyev, Firtash, Yanukovych and Azarov. They borrowed money from Austrian banks to fund non-existing businesses. That is, Austrian investments have disappeared”, he said.
Mr. Chumak also claimed they are looking for money of construction companies in Khmelnytska oblast. “We will address law enforcement authorities. But, unfortunately, for now there is no anti-corruption body in Ukraine that would investigate corruption cases at high level. There is large lobby from public organizations, journalists and donors for creating such a body. Besides, with such a miserable state budget we have, we can’t afford ourselves to lose a dime”. Mr. Chumak said. He also added that they hoped, oligarch’s money stolen from Ukrainian budget would be returned to Ukraine.
Viktor Chumak, Lawyer, MP, Head of Organized Crime Control and Anti-Corruption Committee of the Parliament, Major General of Justice. Prior to 2010, headed the Department of Analysis and Security of International Centre for Policy Studies. From 2010 to 2012 he was a Director of the Ukrainian Institute for Public Policy. Since December 2012 he has been an MP from the UDAR Party.
Peter Pilz, Austrian politician and a leading member of the Austrian Green Party. Mr. Pilz has been a member of the Austrian Parliament (Nationalrat) between 1986 and 1991 and since 1999. From 1992 to 1994 he also was federal spokesperson of the Greens He is mainly concerned with legal matters and investigating political corruption.