Reported by
Ukraine’s anti-corruption authorities have searched the Kyiv offices of Batkivshchyna, the opposition party led by former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, as part of an investigation into alleged bribery of lawmakers in exchange for parliamentary votes.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said it had uncovered evidence that the leader of a parliamentary faction had allegedly offered illicit payments to lawmakers from other parties to influence votes on specific legislation. It said charges were being prepared under Ukraine’s Criminal Code.
Olha Postolyuk, a spokeswoman for the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, told public broadcaster Suspilne on Jan. 14 that Tymoshenko had been charged with offering bribes to members of parliament.
NABU alleged that after several lawmakers from President Volodymyr Zelensky’s party were charged in December, Tymoshenko discussed establishing a system of regular payments in return for votes, including instructions on how lawmakers should vote or abstain. The bureau said the alleged scheme was intended as a long-term arrangement.
Tymoshenko confirmed the searches in a Facebook post, rejecting the accusations as politically motivated and saying investigators seized work phones, parliamentary documents and personal savings that she said were fully declared. “I categorically reject all the absurd accusations,” she wrote.
Tymoshenko, who served as prime minister in 2005 and again from 2007 to 2010, leads Batkivshchyna, which holds 25 seats in parliament. She has not been convicted of any wrongdoing.
