Ukraine’s ex-president returns to face treason charges

Bloomberg

Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko arrived back in Kyiv on Monday to fight charges of treason, accusing his successor of crossing a “red line” with allegations that he denies.
The legal standoff with a former head of state injects a level of political instability in the region as Russia amasses troops on Ukraine’s eastern frontier, a move that’s prompted Western allies to raise the specter of a full-scale invasion. Russia has repeatedly said it doesn’t plan to invade.
Poroshenko, who led Ukraine for five years after the 2014 Maidan uprising that toppled the country’s Kremlin-backed leader, faces accusations of high treason for coal-trading deals with separatists supported by Russia in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. Still active politically, he leads a party in opposition to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Addressing a crowd of supporters outside the airport in the Ukrainian capital upon his arrival, Poroshenko said Zelenskiy’s administration had “crossed the red line” with charges that could send him to prison for up to 15 years if convicted. The former president then headed to a preliminary court hearing that starts at 11 a.m. local time. Previously, a court ordered the seizure of Poroshenko’s assets, including real estate and companies listed in the state registry. He and his allies called the move a politically motivated attack by Zelenskiy.
Tetyana Sapyan, a spokeswoman for the State Bureau of Investigations, denied allegations of political motivations behind the case.
“Politics are for politicians, and facts are for detectives,” she said on Monday. “The investigation is on.”
Two other suspects in the case are currently under home arrest and a third, former Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn, has been placed on an international wanted list.
Poroshenko, who is worth $860 million according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, is accused of using state finances to buy coal from mines controlled by Donbas separatists in 2014 and 2015, thus impeding diversification of energy sources and causing increased dependency on Russian fuels.
Last week, prosecutors said they would seek his detention or bail of $35.7 million upon his return to Ukraine as part of pre-trial investigation.
It’s not the first time Poroshenko has come under investigation during Zelenskiy’s term. In 2020, investigators said he pressured the head of foreign intelligence in 2018 to name an ally to a top post. Poroshenko has denied the wrongdoing and called the charges politically motivated.