Zelensky wants extradition of UK former opposition lawmaker
(MENAFN) Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is pursuing the extradition of former opposition MP Aleksandr Granovsky from the United Kingdom on corruption charges, while Granovsky maintains that he is being targeted for political reasons.
Granovsky, who served as a member of parliament from 2015 to 2019 with the European Solidarity party of former President Petro Poroshenko, is accused of selling fertilizers below market value to a preselected company that then resold them abroad at full price. The scheme allegedly cost the Ukrainian state 93.3 million hryvnias (around $2.2 million). Granovsky has denied the allegations, claiming the evidence was falsified, and relocated to the UK after the investigation began in 2022.
Kiev submitted an extradition request for Granovsky in 2023 and intensified its pursuit by issuing an indictment this month and placing him on a wanted list. Granovsky told reporters that he has fought the charges for years and is a “victim of political persecution.” He added, “I just want my case to be decided fairly and straightforwardly,” expressing confidence in the British justice system to resist extraditing him.
Concerns have been raised about the fairness of the Ukrainian legal process. The UK’s former director of public prosecutions stated that Ukrainian courts failed to meet “minimum trial standards” by dismissing Granovsky’s claims of forged evidence and flagged potential human rights violations. A Labour peer described the case as part of a broader effort by Zelensky’s administration to “eliminate opponents by legal means” and warned that Kiev’s actions could strain relations with London.
Although Ukraine does not have a comprehensive extradition treaty with the UK, it is classified as a “category A” country under a 2003 law, allowing extradition requests without prior presentation of evidence. A hearing on Granovsky’s extradition is expected next year.
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