"A spokesperson for the specialised anti-corruption prosecutor's office (Sapo) said on Wednesday that Tymoshenko had been charged after the offices of her Fatherland party were raided late on Tuesday night by officers from Sapo and the national anti-corruption bureau (Nabu). Tymoshenko's party holds 25 of the 450 seats in Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada. While Tymoshenko has not been formally identified, investigators briefed media in Ukraine over her involvement, while she released a statement denying any accusations."
"Anti-corruption investigators have reportedly accused Yulia Tymoshenko, the prominent Ukrainian opposition figure and former prime minister, of organising a scheme to bribe MPs said to include figures from Volodymyr Zelenskyy's own party to undermine him. Tymoshenko rose to international prominence during Ukraine's Orange Revolution in 2004 and was jailed in 2011 on politically motivated charges by her arch-rival Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Kremlin president, before being released during the Euromaidan protests."
"The allegations against members of Zelenskyy's inner circle have prompted an ongoing political reshuffle, even as the country has faced a crisis over recent sustained Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure. According to reports in Ukraine, the allegations against Tymoshenko relate to the payment of bribes to politicians to vote with her party, including in votes to fire the head of the country's security service and its defence minister, and to vote in favour of figures nominated by her."
Specialised anti-corruption prosecutors and the national anti-corruption bureau raided the Fatherland party offices and charged Yulia Tymoshenko with organising payments to bribe MPs. Investigators say the alleged scheme targeted votes to dismiss the head of the security service and the defence minister and to advance nominees supported by her. Tymoshenko's party holds 25 of 450 seats in the Verkhovna Rada. Tymoshenko denied the accusations. The allegations come amid a series of high-profile probes involving figures close to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and rising political turbulence tied to talk of elections if a ceasefire with Russia were reached, alongside ongoing Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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