UKRAINE-SBU-KALININ-MELNYCHENKO
Kyiv, March 24 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has suspended the investigation into a criminal case opened against a former employee of the State Guard Department, Mykola Melnychenko, due to the fact that his location has not been established, SBU Chief Ihor Kalinin has said.
“Due to the unknown location of the defendant, the pre-trial investigation has currently been suspended, as envisaged by the Criminal Procedure Code. The investigation will resume after Melnychenko is detained and extradited by the law enforcement authorities of foreign countries in which he may be hiding,” he said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
Kalinin recalled that in September 2011, Melnychenko was put on the wanted list on charges of divulging state secrets, forgery and abuse of power. Shevchenkivsky District Court in Kyiv ruled to take Melnychenko into custody.
While commenting on an official statement by the Prosecutor General’s Office that the former employee of the State Guard Department is in Israel and that this country does not agree to extradite him, Kalinin said: “The fact is that there is no bilateral agreement on extradition with Israel… That’s why, he, Melnychenko, is most likely there.”
[UA EUROPE EEU EMRG POL]
PA
15:04:48 EET-2
