The Office of the President Organized Judge Chaus’s Abduction from Moldova, Investigative Journalist Says

The Office of the President organized Judge Chaus’s abduction from Moldova, investigative journalist says

The decision to abduct the notorious judge Mykola Chaus in Moldova was made in the Office of the President of Ukraine. This is written by investigative journalist Oleg Yeltsov in his article.

“Last week a meeting took place in the Office of the President where they approved a plan to kidnap Chaus from Moldova. Participants in the meeting: Andriy Yermak, Andriy Smirnov, Valeriy Kondratiuk. The President himself was not at that gathering, but he was informed of the decisions that were made,” writes Oleg Yeltsov.

According to the investigative journalist, this was done to strengthen the position of the deputy head of the OP, Andriy Smirnov, who is seeking the office of Prosecutor General. “Andriy Smirnov is considered on Bankova Street as ‘one of their own,’ so they do not want to lose him,” writes Oleg Yeltsov.

“Smirnov needed total control over Chaus. The problem was that Chaus could soon appeal in a Moldovan court the denial of political asylum, and then the former judge’s tongue would be unleashed. He could reveal a lot about the involvement of a potential Ukrainian prosecutor general in his escape. Besides, abducting a Ukrainian citizen without any special status on the territory of a foreign state is not as scandalous as abducting a refugee, which he could have become at any moment. Therefore the kidnappers were in a hurry,” Oleg Yeltsov asserts.

According to him, in the case about Judge Chaus’s escape abroad, which NABU is investigating, the current deputy head of the OP, Smirnov, is mentioned as the person directly responsible for hiding Chaus on the eve of his flight to Moldova. “When asked by colleagues from ‘Slidstvo.info’ whether this is true, whether Smirnov transported the bribery-tainted judge first to the territory of the Alpenky residential complex, then to the Salyut hotel, and from there to Kyiv airport, Smirnov refused to answer, directing journalists to NABU, which is handling the case,” the journalist recalls.

Oleg Yeltsov says that by abducting Chaus, the Office of the President tried to kill two birds with one stone. “Andriy Yermak dreams of squeezing testimony from the judge that he was allegedly taken abroad with the help of former HUR chief Vasyl Burba. Discrediting Burba is extremely important to Bankova. After all, any day now the investigative film by Bellingcat about the Wagner debacle is expected to premiere, where Burba may appear as one of the most authoritative witnesses accusing the current leaders of the state of leaking the case,” the journalist is convinced.

The abduction of Judge Mykola Chaus, the journalist calls “a masterclass in putting the country’s foreign policy into a nosedive.” “At a time when Ukraine is in a state of undeclared war with the Russian aggressor, over several months through betrayal, unprofessionalism, and the irresponsibility of the country’s highest leadership we have managed to get embroiled in two failed special operations on the territory of two neighboring countries with which we previously had fairly warm relations: the Wagner debacle in Belarus and the Chaus disgrace in Moldova,” Oleg Yeltsov concludes.

Video of Mykola Chaus’s abduction: