Back
Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Former head of the Ukrainian Association of Football Andriy Pavelko has been involved in a number of scandals. The official was placed in pretrial detention, and after his release he fled Ukraine.
In July of this year Pavelko was detained in Bratislava at the request of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine. It was expected that the ex-politician would be extradited home, Tribuna reports.
Why Pavelko is not in Ukraine
However, one and a half months have already passed, and the former UAF president is still in Slovakia. The Office of the Prosecutor General explained what stage Pavelko’s extradition is currently at.
It is reported that all necessary documents for carrying out this process have been sent to the competent Slovak authorities. However, the decision of the Slovak Ministry of Justice has not yet been issued.
"One of the foundational principles of international cooperation in criminal proceedings is the principle of confidentiality. The Office of the Prosecutor General has sent all necessary documents to the competent authorities of the Slovak Republic to carry out the extradition review of the person named in the request. At this time, the competent authorities of the Slovak Republic are conducting the appropriate review," the Office of the Prosecutor General notes.
The decision of the Ministry of Justice based on the review has not yet been received by the Ukrainian side. More detailed requested information in the specified criminal proceeding contains the secrecy of the pretrial investigation, which is protected by a special law. The harm from disclosing the requested information outweighs the public interest in obtaining it,
— the statement of the Prosecutor General’s Office says.
What Pavelko is being charged with
Recall that in 2023 Pavelko was accused of embezzlement, misappropriation of property, or seizure of it by abusing his official position in the UAF. Andriy received a suspicion from the National Police and was placed in pretrial detention.
In February of 2024 Pavelko was released, and in December of that same year he left Ukraine and did not return. The reason given for his departure was disability.
Later the ex-president of the UAF was placed on the list of persons evading Ukrainian authorities. The amount of damage caused by Pavelko is estimated at 295 million euros.
In January of 2024 the politician ceased to head the Ukrainian Association of Football, and his successor became Andriy Shevchenko. Earlier we reported who Shevchenko’s wife is and what she does.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Словаччина затягує екстрадицію Павелка: чому затриманого ексглаву УАФ ще не повернули в Україну". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Channel 24.
