The former director and deputy director of Ukraine’s state-owned gas company, Naftogaz, will have been waiting today to hear if they are elected to Ukraine’s parliament, not least because winning seats would offer them immunity from prosecution. Prosecution for what?
A video report (above) by Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty shows the stunning palaces that the two men – former Naftogaz director Yevgen Bakulin and his former deputy, Sergei Katsuba – have built on a wooded bank of the Dniepr River, outside Kyiv. RFE-RL deployed a boat on the river and aerial drone to photograph the luxury estates.
Katsuba declines on camera to discuss where he got the millions of dollars required to build the palace that is registered in his mother’s name. When police began an investigation last spring, Bakulin fell prostrate on the floor of his office, unable or unwilling to speak in response to questions. Prosecutors say they believe they have a good chance of prosecuting the men for corruption.