UP: Kravchenko stopped at border over NABU and SAPO flag, let through after call from Kyiv

Anastasia Prots , Mykhailo Tkach - 30 October, 13:55

Ruslan Kravchenko. Photo: Office of the Prosecutor General

According to Ukrainska Pravda sources, then-prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko was prevented from crossing into Poland at the Shehyni crossing point due to a flag from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), but was allowed through following a phone call from Kyiv.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda's investigation CarthageProsecutor: Why Ukrainska Pravda journalists were really detained in Vienna (English subtitles coming soon)

Details: UP's sources in law enforcement agencies said that Kravchenko's passport was taken away at Shehyni and not returned for a long time. The reason was reportedly a flag from NABU and SAPO in the border guards' database.

Quote from UP journalist Mykhailo Tkach: "Later, according to the same sources, the border guards received a phone call from Kyiv and let Kravchenko out to Vienna, where Vienna security services may have already been waiting for him."

Background:

UP found out that Odesa businessman Volodymyr Halanternyk, a suspect in two NABU and SAPO cases, may have helped Kravchenko settle in Vienna. People who allegedly work for the businessman testified against UP journalists who were looking for the former prosecutor general at the building they believed to be his home.
According to Austrian investigation files, during the interrogation of the journalists, law enforcement officers checked the residence register and confirmed that Kravchenko was registered at the specified address. UP also assumes that Kravchenko may have been guarded by Austrian intelligence services.
Halanternyk ignored the editorial board's requests. Kravchenko, on the other hand, accused NABU and SAPO of plotting "violent acts" against him. The bureau rejected these accusations, calling them an attempt to secure protection abroad.
Kravchenko left Ukraine on the night of 13-14 September. Under an order he had signed himself, he was due to spend five days in Paris, allegedly attending hearings on Ukrainian children under the auspices of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. However, his name did not appear on the list of participants in the discussion.
His business trip ended on 18 September. According to Mariana Haivovska, spokesperson for the Prosecutor General's Office, Kravchenko had not returned to work by 21 September.

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