Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko did not show up at the State Bureau of Investigations on Thursday, where he had been summoned to be questioned as a witness in an inquiry into the organization of the illegal crossing of the Ukrainian border. “Poroshenko did not appear for questioning on Thursday,” State Bureau of Investigations press secretary Anzhelika Ivanova told Interfax-Ukraine.
Poroshenko was summoned to undergo investigative procedures in a criminal inquiry regarding the possible organization of the illegal transfer of individuals across the Ukrainian border using fake documents, she said.
“Investigators from the State Bureau of Investigations will look into reports alleging that the ex-president arranged the illegal transfer [of individuals] across the Ukrainian border using knowingly false documents. In addition, it will look into the possibility that customs and border officials might have entered knowingly false information in official documents to ensure the crossing of the border,” the statement says.
The pretrial inquiry has been opened on counts of official forgery, illegal transfer of individuals across the Ukrainian border, and the use of a knowingly fake passport.
The case concerns Poroshenko’s trip to the Maldivian Islands.
State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) Director Roman Truba has said the next questioning of ex-President Petro Poroshenko may be conducted with the assistance of lie-detecting equipment. “We don’t rule out that the next interrogation could take place with the use of lie-detecting equipment. There is nothing awful about this. All our employees take lie-detector tests every year,” Truba said on his Telegram channel.
Truba said Poroshenko was questioned for two hours on Monday about possible tax evasion involving the acquisition of the Pryamiy TV channel.
Unidentified people near SBI tried to hit Poroshenko with eggs when he left the SBI building on Monday.
Rallies were held for and against Poroshenko before and after he was questioned.
Unnamed men who obviously want Poroshenko to face criminal charges threw eggs at him when he was leaving the SBI building, but the eggs mainly hit journalists. Police intervened, but the hooligans escaped. Poroshenko, who was accompanied by his son Mykhailo and daughter Yevhenia, was unhurt. As reported, on July 25, four unknown men attempted to assault Poroshenko after he was questioned in Kyiv. The men escaped.
