Tymoshenko calls NABU suspicions unfounded in parliament, claims political pressure

The politician made this statement during a speech in parliament, according to a Ukrinform correspondent.

Tymoshenko called the accusations “completely unfounded” and “without any evidence.”

In her speech, she stated that she “refutes the allegations” and described in detail the events of the search of her office the previous evening.

According to the MP, at around 9:30 p.m., a large group of armed law enforcement officers — more than 30 people — entered the party's premises without security, without a court order, and without providing the necessary documents.

Tymoshenko claims that she was denied the right to call a lawyer, office workers were blocked, and phones and documents were seized.

“They did not show me any court or prosecutor's decision. The group leader said, ‘There are no documents and none are needed because these are special investigative actions that do not require anything.’ I said, ‘Do you have anything at all?’ He showed me an extract from the unified register on his phone. That's all they showed me,” she said.

The politician also stated that investigators had accessed her private phone and seized the faction's working materials, in particular, parliamentary voting analytics, calling it interference in her activities as a deputy.

According to her, law enforcement officers searched for a safe in her office and seized personal savings “which are reflected in the declaration.”

Separately, Tymoshenko reported searches in the office of MP Serhiy Vlasenko, who heads the Verkhovna Rada's temporary investigative commission on the investigation of possible corruption or corruption-related offenses in law enforcement agencies, courts, and judicial authorities.

The leader of Batkivshchyna linked the actions of law enforcement agencies to her faction's previous criticism of NABU and SAPO, as well as to her public position on certain legislative initiatives.

“This is not anti-corruption work,” she stressed, adding that she considers the events to be “lawlessness” and compared them to the practices of the Yanukovych era.

As reported, on January 13, NABU and SAPO announced that they had exposed the leader of one of the factions for attempting to bribe deputies to vote “correctly” for or against specific bills.

On January 14, Tymoshenko confirmed the searches in the Batkivshchyna office but rejected all accusations.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office reported suspicions against the leader of one of the Verkhovna Rada factions of offering illegal benefits to MPs.