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Prime minister ally flees police custody
Journal Staff Report

KIEV, Aug. 10 – A political ally of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov fled his home on Friday in a bizarre case after police had apparently wanted to take him into custody following bribery allegations.

Petro Melnyk, the head of the state university that trains tax inspectors, was under house arrest for allegedly accepting 120,000 hryvnias in bribes for enrolling two individuals in the school.

But the manhunt that ensued after Melnyk’s escape and the high-profile coverage it was given on tightly-controlled media underscores a hidden battle within the ruling Regions Party for the top post in the government.

An investigation and a trial could deal a blow to Azarov by weakening his grip on the party and on the post, opening way for Serhiy Arbuzov, the first deputy prime minister and a confidant of President Viktor Yanukovych, to get promotion.

Arbuzov, known as a key member of a clan associated with the Yanukovych family, failed to secure the prime minister post eight months ago due to quiet resistance from Azarov’s allies within the Regions Party.

“Melnyk’s detention is a clear challenge by the Family to Azarov,” Petro Oleshchuk, a Kiev-based political scientist, said. “Obviously, some people are very much in a hurry to complete the process of appointing Arbuzov to the top government position.”

Yanukovych, who is expected to seek reelection at the next presidential vote in March 2015, has recently completed promotions and appointments of his most trusted lieutenants to key positions in judicial authorities.

This includes appointments within the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Council of Justice, a body that is crucial in appointment and dismissal of judges in Ukraine.

All these authorities may play a key role in case the next presidential election is challenged by an opposition candidate that could provoke a major standoff and political paralysis.

Although Azarov is a long-time member of the Regions Party, Yanukovych would still prefer to see a more trusted person on the post of the prime minister, which means Azarov needs to drop his quiet opposition to Arbuzov.

“The Melnyk case is, firstly, an attempt to knock out Azarov’s levers within the [Regions] party,” Oleshchuk said. “Secondly, this is an attempt to collect compromising information against Azarov personally.”

The reports of Melnyk’s detention last week prompted Azarov to cut short his vacation and to return to Kiev. At a government meeting Azarov threatened to fire those mayors in even regions that had recently hiked prices of utilities, reflecting higher natural gas prices.

The utilities prices is a politically sensitive matter in Ukraine that may have devastating affect on public support for the prime minister if prices are allowed to increase significantly.

Azarov has flatly refused allowing the price hike and has instead focused on trying to secure lower gas prices from Russia. But three-year talks with Moscow have failed to produce any results, leaving local governments with the burden to subsidize utilities prices.

Azarov, asked to comment on Melnyk’s escape, said he spoke with Vitaliy Zakharchenko, the interior minister, and added that Melnyk’s behavior was “unacceptable.”

"Zaharchenko reported to me about the incident. I asked him to take all necessary measures that are usually taken by police in such situations," Azarov wrote on his Facebook account. "I think Melnyk’s behavior is unacceptable."

Meanwhile, police used special dogs to try to trace Melnyk down after his escape, but the dogs lost track of him 200 meters from home, possibly indicating that he had taken a car.

“Dogs took the trail and went towards the new road, stopped by pine trees and went into the woods,” Kotsyubynske.com.ua, a local news website, reported. “Investigators ran after the dogs, and journalists ran after the investigators.”

Melnyk was arrested July 27 for allegedly accepting 40,000 hryvnias and 80,000 hryvnias from two people for helping to enroll their relatives to the tax school in Irpin.

Melnyk was put under house arrest through September 27 by a Pechersk court ruling on August 1. Melnyk was also ordered to wear a special electronic bracelet allowing police to monitor his location.

But on August 9 investigators decided that Melnyk must be taken into custody. They later discovered that he had fled his home, with the bracelet carefully removed and put on a table in his home. (tl/ez)




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