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Controversial Ukrainian Interior Minister Avakov resigns after
seven years in role, facing claims of corruption & far-right links
13 Jul, 2021 17:15
© Sputnik / Alexey Vitvitsky
One of Kiev’s most long-standing and notorious political titans, veteran Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, announced on Tuesday afternoon that he will stand down from the job of overseeing Ukraine’s domestic security and policing.
In a statement published on the Interior Ministry’s Facebook page, Avakov wrote that he had “submitted a letter of resignation” from the post and thanked officials in the department “for the years of joint work. Thanks to every officer, private and employee. The honor has been mine,” he added.
Avakov had been the longest-serving minister in the government, having first been appointed in 2014 after the country’s Maidan, and outlasted former president Petro Poroshenko. He was widely seen as one of the most influential and best-connected political figures in Ukraine.
In recent months, the long-standing minister has been dogged by criticism from the opposition over what they deemed to be the slow pace of law enforcement reform, including the prosecution of those said to be involved in killings during the 2014 violence. Five years after the bloody clashes, which left at least 100 pro-Maidan activists dead, 36 officers suspected of involvement in crimes were still said to be working in the force.
In addition, Avakov’s son, Oleksander, became embroiled in a row over alleged corruption, along with the country’s former deputy interior minister over claims of dodgy dealing as part of the award of a state contract worth more than half-a-million dollars. However, the case was dropped by prosecutors in 2018 over what officials said was a “lack of evidence.”
Avakov has also come under fire in the West for his perceived close links with the far-right Azov Batallion, an ultranationalist paramilitary force that have consistently displayed Nazi iconography and been linked to extreme violence. There have been numerous calls in the US and other nations to ban the group as an extremist organization.
Last year, the Ukrainian parliament’s Committee on Law Enforcement Affairs proposed to consider Avakov’s dismissal, with the committee unanimously backing the resolution. However, President Volodymyr Zelensky opposed the calls, saying that “there is still no better minister,” and that Avakov was a “wonderful” person to have in government.
Did he jump or was he pushed? Claims emerge from Kiev that Ukrainian
Interior Minister Avakov was ordered to quit by Americans
14 Jul, 2021 09:11
The resignation of Kiev’s notorious Interior Minister Arsen Avakov may not have been his own personal decision, and he could have been “advised” to leave his position by the new acting US Ambassador in Kiev, George Kent.
Kent and Avakov
The resignation came just one day after the two men held a meeting. Avakov was the first Ukrainian official Kent met after being assigned to his post.
Avakov is the longest-serving minister in the government, having first been appointed in 2014 by President Petro Poroshenko. When Volodymyr Zelensky came to power in 2019, he kept the interior minister in his position, and he was therefore widely seen as one of the most influential people in Ukrainian politics.
Throughout his time in the role, Avakov has received a barrage of criticism, having been accused of being close to the far-right neo-Nazi Azov Battalion. He has also been attacked for the perceived slow pace of law enforcement reform and the lack of action against corruption.
According to a Strana source, Kent advised Avakov that it was time to leave, promising him a quiet retirement.
Does that mean that Ukraine will not pursue him for corruption charges? Interesting that the US Ambassador should make such a promise.
Kent was appointed as acting US ambassador to Kiev last week. He currently serves as the deputy assistant secretary of state and has worked in the State Department’s foreign service since 1992. In 2019, he became a well-known face after giving a deposition in the House impeachment inquiry of US President Donald Trump, serving as a witness when Congress was determining whether lawyer Rudy Giuliani had attempted to undermine the former ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch.
Strana also reported that there might be another explanation for Avakov’s resignation: Zelensky wants to show he is the most influential person in the country, and not Kent. According to a source for the publication, Zelensky felt the Avakov-Kent meeting was a threat to his power, noting that rumors are swirling in Kiev that the president has now forbidden officials and MPs from his party to meet with Kent without express permission.
Hmmmmm. So, who is in control in Ukraine?
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Senior Russian traffic policeman's large luxurious palace go viral
after local cop 'mafia' arrested over bribery charges
20 Jul, 2021 15:03
Photos of a high-ranking Russian traffic cop’s gaudy mansion, including a golden toilet seat and painted ceilings, have gone viral after he was arrested for bribery and abuse of power, along with other police officers.
Alexey Safonov, the head of the southern Stavropol region's traffic police, was detained on Tuesday. The authorities believe he was the head of a criminal organization.
The news was announced by State Duma MP Alexander Khinshtein, who revealed on Telegram that the police and national guard conducted a huge operation on Tuesday morning.
According to Khinshtein, the group of policemen worked as a “mafia, profiting from everything - from license plates to the passage of large trucks involved in the sand trade.” Almost all the top management of the regional traffic department were arrested, he said.
In particular, Safonov and six of his accomplices have been detained on suspicion of taking bribes totaling more than 19 million rubles ($255,000), the Investigative Committee revealed. As part of the corruption, the group took bribes for passes that allow the transport of goods, such as grain, through police checkpoints.
Khinshtein also shared photos of Safonov’s house online, jokingly calling it a “modest dwelling.” The pictures depict a luxurious palace, with huge rooms decorated in gold and stucco.
According to a police source for Russian news agency TASS, searches are currently being conducted at the homes and offices of those arrested.
Following the arrests, Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev fired Major General Sergei Shchetkin, the head of police in the Stavropol region. Several of those detained were his immediate subordinates.
Safonov, a police colonel, has been the head of the Stavropol region traffic police department since 2012.
Norwegian man used 300 stolen identities as part of
massive Covid compensation scam
20 Jul, 2021 12:39
FILE PHOTO: A police cruiser in Oslo, Norway © AFP / ODD ANDERSEN
A Norwegian man who went to extreme lengths to illegally milk the country’s Covid relief program has been nabbed by authorities, but only after he used hundreds of stolen identities as part of his massive fraud scheme.
The 35-year-old suspect has been accused of collecting around 10 million Norwegian krone ($1.1 million) in pandemic-related compensation from the country’s Labor and Welfare Administration (NAV). The benefits program is designed to help those who have been financially impacted by the health crisis.
According to media reports, the man used around 300 stolen identities from employees working at 11 different companies. He reportedly gave the ‘employees’ high incomes so that they could claim the maximum amount of wage compensation. In total, the suspect applied for around 17 million krone, but only received around half the amount before authorities became suspicious.
Norwegian police described the scam as one of the largest cases of Covid relief fraud to date. After receiving payments from NAV, it’s believed that the man funneled the cash into a money laundering network. So far police have recovered one million krone.
The alleged scammer’s case will be heard before an Oslo court next month. The suspect has denied the charges.
Norway is far from the only country to suffer from Covid-related fraud. In March, the US Justice Department (DOJ) announced that it had charged 474 defendants with criminal offenses based on fraud schemes connected to the health crisis. In total, the suspects attempted to steal $569 million from the US government and unsuspecting Americans through fraud, the DOJ said in a statement.
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