Latvia Refutes Statements From the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine About the Existence of Sergiy Arbuzov's Accounts in the Country

KYIV, Ukraine, Dec. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

The defence lawyers for Sergiy Arbuzov, ex-head of the NBU, asserted today during a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine in light of information provided by the Latvian state authorities, that the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) of Ukraine misled the public in the reporting of the existence and arrest of accounts of their client in Latvia.

Lawyers Yuri Glotov and Sergei Kovalev addressed how the PGO of Ukraine has repeatedly stated it has data on the accounts of Sergiy Arbuzov abroad. However, Glotov and Kovalev asserted that the PGO only presented figures on one occasion; when in September 2014 it was stated that the law enforcement authorities in Latvia had arrested $ 49.3 million on a local bank account. However, over a year has passed and the PGO has not brought a criminal case involving the money against Sergiy Arbuzov as the defendant. During this time the PGO has not provided any evidence of the existence of these accounts or the facts of their arrest.

The defence stated at the press conference that the reason for this silence was that these accounts did not exist.

"The defence of Sergiy Arbuzov filed an official request to the Latvian state authorities and Latvian banks. Now we have documented proof that the PGO has misled the Ukrainian public," said Yuri Glotov, showing reporters the official response from the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Latvia confirming that there were no criminal proceedings initiated against Arbuzov in the country that could be the basis of an arrest of accounts.

In addition, journalists were shown the response of the Latvian Grand Jury of Officers of Justice, which confirmed the absence of decisions made on the basis of which accounts could be arrested.

That, in the opinion of the defence, is enough to completely refute the statement of the PGO.

The lawyers stressed that they also sent inquiries to all Latvian banks querying whether they held accounts for the former first deputy prime minister. The responses received indicated that Sergiy Arbuzov held no accounts in Latvian banks.

The defence asks that, considering the documentary evidence collected, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine refute statements about the alleged arrest of Sergiy Arbuzov's accounts in Latvia, and cease disseminating information about this.