Kyiv Mayor and head of Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA) Vitali Klitschko has asked the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) to open criminal proceedings upon a statement made by head of the President's Office Andriy Bohdan who reported an attempt to bribe him.
"Speaking at a press conference on July 30, 2019, Mr. Bohdan told media representatives that, in a conversation, someone tried to offer him a $20 million bribe. And, allegedly, this offer was made in the interests of the Kyiv mayor, that is, in my interests. I did not authorize anyone to conduct such 'negotiations!' And such statements by Mr. Bohdan, who is in charge of the Office of the President of Ukraine, are subject to a pretrial probe as they may indicate the commission of criminal offenses," Klitschko said on Facebook on Thursday.
Klitschko said if someone offered something to someone it is necessary to establish who, acting in whose name and with what offer. He said it's necessary to determine in addition whether the officials received illegal payments.
As reported, the Presidential Office of Ukraine has appealed to the Cabinet of the Ministers to ask for Klitschko's dismissal as Kyiv City State Administration Head.
In turn, Klitschko called the initiative to divide power in the capital and remove him from the post of head of KCSA as contrary to the law. He said he intends to defend the current order, according to which the elected mayor of the capital is automatically appointed head of the city administration. He stressed that the separation of the posts and the introduction of "dual power" in the capital is unconstitutional. Klitschko also said the practice of electing local authorities is European, and the appointment of someone to these positions contradicts it.
As reported, Bohdan said at a recent press conference that a man had allegedly approached him from one of the "supervisors" of Kyiv and suggested splitting money stolen from Kyiv's budget in half for not taking steps to change KCSA head. At the same time, Bohdan said that he did not expect such a twist and thus was unable to record the conversation.
On June 25, 2014, Kyiv Mayor Klitschko was appointed KCSA Head by decree of the President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko. By another decree, Poroshenko dismissed Volodymyr Bondarenko from that post.
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