Ukrainian politician Tymoshenko charged in corruption case

Yulia Tymoshenko, the leader of the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party in Ukraine, has been charged in a corruption case.

1news.media informs, citing Kyiv Independent, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said on Jan. 13 that the leader of a political party in Ukraine's parliament (Verkhovna Rada) had been offering bribes to other lawmakers in exchange for votes.

While the anti-corruption agencies did not name the lawmaker or the party, a law enforcement source told the Kyiv Independent that NABU and SAPO were carrying out searches of the Batkivshchyna party's offices.

Tymoshenko confirmed the searches in a Facebook post on Jan. 14 and argued that they "have nothing to do with law or legality."

"They found nothing, so they just took my work phones, parliamentary documents, and personal savings, all of which are fully declared in my official statement of assets," Tymoshenko added. "I categorically reject all the absurd accusations."

She also wrote that "it seems the elections are much closer than they appeared, and someone has decided to start clearing out the competition."