Friday

29th Mar 2024

Interpol red-flags former Ukraine leader as EU deadline looms

  • Yankovych is believed to be hiding in Russia (Photo: interpol.org)

Interpol, the international police agency, has red-flagged former Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych and three associates.

It said on Monday (12 January) they are wanted in Ukraine on charges of “misappropriation, embezzlement or conversion of property by malversation … in respect of an especially gross amount”.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The other men are: former Ukrainian PM Mykola Azarov; ex-finance minister Iurii Kolobov; and a former Ukrainian telecoms executive Georgii Dzekon.

For his part, Ukraine interior minister Arsen Avakov said the same day on his Facebook page that Interpol has also put one of Yushchenko’s sons, Olexandr, under a red notice.

The EU last March imposed an asset freeze on Yanukovych and 17 others, including Azarov, Kolobov, and Yanukovych junior.

It is unclear how many of them have been flagged by Interpol because it sometimes keeps its notifications quiet.

The Lyon, France-based police agency, also on Monday, noted a previous Ukrainian request to red-flag the ex-president on charges of “abuse of power and murder” is still pending.

It added that it never issues red notices for “political” reasons.

With Yanukovych believed to be hiding in Russia, it also underlined that a “red notice” does not oblige Interpol members to arrest or extradite people, but merely informs them that a fellow member is seeking help.

Meanwhile, Avakov complained that Russia is refusing to honour 23 bilateral extradition requests on former regime members.

Yanukovych fled his mansion in the outskirts of Kiev last February after he was deserted by his security forces amid an increasingly violent uprising.

His former home has been turned into a museum of corruption.

He has been charged in Kiev with abuse of power, organised mass murder, and public calls for the overthrow of the constitutional order, but not treason.

Ukraine prosecutors have also filed corruption cases against Yanukovych, Azarov, and most of the other names on the EU blacklist.

But Ukrainska Pravda, a Ukrainian investigative website, reported last month that most of the investigations are moving at a snail’s pace.

It added that sluggish EU implementation of its own measures has seen some of them move around assets in Cyprus, Austria, Germany, and Italy.

All 18 of the EU-listed persons have challenged the measure in the EU court in Luxembourg.

Their official designation says the EU did it because they are “subject to investigation in Ukraine for … the embezzlement of Ukrainian state funds”.

Ukrainska Pravda notes that if Ukrainian prosecutors cannot substantiate the charges against them by 6 march - the date the EU blacklist expires - then EU institutions might opt not to extend them for another year.

US and EU breaking taboos to restrain Israel

The US abstained and all EU states on the UN Security Council backed a call for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza, as Europe prepares to also blacklist extremist Israeli settlers.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us