Poroshenko Ally Oleksandr Granovsky Questioned by SBI and NABU: What Is Known?

The People's Deputy spent two hours at the SBI and left through a back door to avoid meeting journalists.

On August 9, on Friday, SBI investigators questioned People's Deputy Oleksandr Granovsky. This was reported by journalist Vasyl Krutchak, who published a video of the MP's visit to the SBI. The footage shows the People's Deputy getting out of an escort car and heading with his security and lawyers to the entrance of the Kyiv Territorial Department of the State Bureau of Investigation. When a journalist asked how he was feeling, the deputy replied that his mood was “normal”.

What drew investigators' interest to Oleksandr Granovsky?

The People's Deputy did not publicly comment on the reason for the investigators' interest in him. However, the online publication “Strana”, citing its sources in the agency, reports that Oleksandr Granovsky is implicated in a case over the illegal criminal prosecution of Dnipro businessman and leader of the UKROP party Gennady Korban.

In October 2015, the politician was detained at his home by an SBU special forces unit and taken by helicopter to a court in Chernihiv, but the judges refused to consider the preventive measure for the politician and recused themselves. After the permissible detention period expired, investigators brought Korban to Kyiv, where the Pechersk court placed him under house arrest. In December, Judge Mykola Chaus of the Dnipro District Court of Kyiv changed Korban's preventive measure to detention.

Soon the charges against Korban were dropped, and in May 2016 the politician left for Israel.

In July 2019, the ECHR ruled as unlawful Korban's detention and arrest, his being held in a cage during court hearings, and comments by officials who stated his guilt.

Journalists and the politician himself have called Oleksandr Granovsky the organizer of the operation to detain and arrest Korban and the overseer of criminal cases against the politician on behalf of Petro Poroshenko.

This is the SBI, so what about NABU?

According to Strana, on August 6 the People's Deputy was questioned by NABU detectives. Oleksandr Granovsky is implicated in a case over organizing the escape of Judge Mykola Chaus of the Dnipro District Court and concealing him from law enforcement.

On August 9, 2016, NABU detectives documented Chaus receiving a bribe of 150,000 dollars for making a decision needed by the client in one of the criminal proceedings under his consideration. During a search of Chaus's home, three-liter jars of money were found, which he may have buried in his vegetable garden. However, the judge could not be detained promptly due to judicial immunity, and on August 11 he disappeared from the view of law enforcement. The Verkhovna Rada consented to Chaus's arrest only on September 6, 2016.

On March 1, 2017, Judge Chaus was detained in Moldova, but was soon released under house arrest, which the judge served in a rented apartment. At the same time, Chaus's lawyers filed a request for political asylum.

In October 2017, Moldovan President Igor Dodon refused Chaus political asylum. Chaus's defense appealed the Moldovan president's refusal in court, but the case dragged on because the judge handling it went on maternity leave. Until a Moldovan court determines whether the president's refusal was justified, Chaus cannot be extradited to Ukraine.

In July, former Vinnytsia police chief Anton Shevtsov gave an interview to the Strana publication, in which he said that the escape of Judge Chaus was organized by State Protection Directorate officers on the orders of General Fedorov, the head of Poroshenko's personal guard. According to Shevtsov, until August 20 the judge was hidden in Kyiv Region, after first shaking off external surveillance, after which he was put on a charter flight that flew to Moldova without passing border and customs control. In Moldova, according to Shevtsov, Chaus was placed under the care of people oriented toward local oligarch Plahotniuc, who has friendly relations with Petro Poroshenko. Recently Judge Chaus was spotted on the streets of Chisinau with a bodyguard, more about this we wrote here.

Who is Oleksandr Granovsky?

Oleksandr Granovsky — People's Deputy from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc party and one of the former president's closest supporters. The media and public figures have called Granovsky the “overseer of the law enforcement and judicial system.”

After Petro Poroshenko lost the presidential election, Oleksandr Granovsky left the BPP party. In an interview with Natalia Vlashchenko, the politician stated that he did not share many of the party's views. In the early parliamentary elections, Granovsky ran as a self-nominee in the 169th single-mandate district in Kharkiv, where he had the support of Kharkiv mayor Gennady Kernes, but lost to Servant of the People candidate, blogger Oleksandr Kunitsky. Granovsky and his rival Oleksandr Kirsh then each received 15% of the vote, against 48% for Oleksandr Kunitsky.

Oleksandr Granovsky is not the only one who has to go to questioning. Earlier, the SBI summoned Petro Poroshenko for questioning over possible tax evasion when buying the Pryamyi TV channel.

Former National Bank head Valeriya Hontareva approached the matter more creatively. The official stated that she does not plan to come for questioning as a suspect, since she is in London.