As announced by the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for the Fight against Corruption (SAPO), the offices of her party Otadžbina were searched on Tuesday evening, and the investigation is being conducted in cooperation with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU). Although Tymoshenko was not formally named in the indictment, investigators confirmed her alleged involvement to the media.
According to Ukrainian media, the charges relate to the payment of bribes to representatives, including those from the ruling party, to vote in accordance with the interests of Tymoshenko’s party, among other things, for the removal of high-ranking state officials. Investigators claim that Tymoshenko planned to use the Signal app to send voting instructions, with the aim of, they say, “breaking the majority” of President Zelensky.
Tymoshenko rejected all the accusations. In a post on Facebook, she said:
“I officially declare that the published audio recordings have nothing to do with me. I reject all accusations and will prove them baseless in court.”
After the search, she additionally reacted, claiming that the actions of the investigating authorities were politically motivated:
“It seems that the election is much closer than it seemed and someone decided to start cleaning up the competition. They found nothing, so they simply took my official phones, parliamentary documents and personal savings, all properly reported in my asset card. I categorically reject all these absurd allegations.”
This case comes at a time of increased political tensions in Ukraine, in the wake of several high-profile anti-corruption investigations that also involved people close to President Zelensky, and on the eve of increasingly frequent speculation about the possible holding of elections after a possible ceasefire with Russia.
