The case against former MP Martynenko is falling apart in Europe

The case against former Ukrainian MP Mykola Martynenko, a former ally of Arseniy Yatsenyuk, is falling apart in Europe. The investigation, which began in 2015, was initially conducted by law enforcement authorities in Switzerland and the Czech Republic, and later by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).

Martynenko was suspected of receiving a €300,000 bribe to promote the interests of the Czech company SKODA JS in Ukraine, which sought contracts to service Ukrainian nuclear power plants.

It was alleged that Martynenko, who at that time headed the Rada’s Energy and Nuclear Policy Committee, could facilitate this. In the Czech Republic, four SKODA employees were tried in connection with this case. They allegedly made payments to consulting firms that, according to the prosecution, lobbied for contracts through Martynenko. These funds were purportedly transferred to offshore accounts and then to Switzerland, according to the Swiss prosecutor’s office.

In 2022, a Swiss court found Martynenko guilty of laundering money obtained through criminal means. However, as reported by the Swiss publication Neue Zürcher Zeitung, an appeal in April this year sided with the former MP and fully acquitted him. The court determined that the criminal origin of the funds was not proven, nor was it proven that Martynenko abused his official position as an MP and head of the parliamentary committee.

According to Neue Zürcher Zeitung, the Martynenko case also had a media-political aspect. The case materials include evidence of communication between representatives of the Swiss prosecutor’s office and an unnamed Ukrainian journalist regarding information on Martynenko’s case.

“The defendant’s lawyer managed to ensure that the journalists’ inquiries and the federal prosecutor’s responses were included in the procedural documents, making them accessible for review. This raises the question of whether the correspondence between the prosecutor’s office and the Ukrainian journalist aimed to pressure Ukrainian authorities through the media,” the article states.

Furthermore, as reported by the Czech publication iDNES, a court in Plzeň acquitted the aforementioned Czech managers. The judge ruled that the payments they made to consulting firms, which were allegedly intended to bribe Martynenko, were neither embezzlement nor tax evasion, as the prosecution had claimed.

It should be noted that the accusations against Martynenko in the case led by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine are also largely based on materials from European law enforcement agencies. Now, after the court decisions in Switzerland and the Czech Republic, this case is on the verge of collapse. One of NABU’s first high-profile cases is now also at risk of falling apart.