SBU charges former MP Aristov with fraud
Ukraine’s SBU security service has charged
former MP Yuriy
Aristov with forging documents to obtain a permit to travel abroad for a
vacation, the SBU said in a Telegram post on July 27.
The disgraced former MP could face up to three years of imprisonment or a fine of UAH 4250 ($115).
According to the investigation, Aristov travelled to the Maldives for vacation during wartime, in spite of the travel ban imposed on officials. For this, he allegedly included false information regarding the duration, purpose, and country of his "official business trip" in official documents. Furthermore, it is claimed that Aristov remotely got a sick leave slip at a private clinic in Kyiv, where false information was entered into the digital healthcare system, as a medical examination was not actually conducted.
Earlier on July 27, the Ukrainian parliament has voted to approve Aristov’s resignation, stripping him of his parliamentary mandate.
Aristov had previously been spotted in the Maldives at the five-star Waldorf Astoria Maldives resort in mid-July, by Ukrainian investigative journalism outlet Slidstvo.Info. His stay was confirmed by the hotel, though both the MP his press secretary refused to comment.
Subsequently, the ruling Servant of the People party, founded by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, announced that it had started an investigation into the incident and may expel Aristov based on its findings.
The State Bureau of Investigation then began to investigate the legality of Aristov's vacation to the Maldives – since martial law forbids government officials from leaving the country without an authorized reason.
During a search of Aristov’s house, his passport was found to contain Maldivian passport stamps, which confirmed he did visit the islands in July.
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