Hromadske Television’s Slidstvo.info investigative show late on May 10 published alleged Whatsapp correspondence between fugitive lawmaker Oleksandr Onyshchenko and allies of President Petro Poroshenko on buying votes in the Verkhovna Rada.
The alleged evidence, collected during an interview with Onyshchenko, implicates Poroshenko Bloc lawmakers Igor Kononenko and Serhiy Berezenko, Poroshenko’s banker Makar Pasenyuk and Batkivshchyna party leader Yulia Tymoshenko.
All of them have denied accusations of wrongdoing.
According to Slidstvo.info, in the messages references to “the boss” (pervy, literally “the first”)” mean President Petro Poroshenko, while “fourth” means Poroshenko’s office on the Presidential Administration’s fourth floor, “aunt, madam, lady or girl” refer to Tymoshenko, “oxygen” and “documents” mean money, “a book” or “one” means $1 million, and “to close” or “to dance it out” means to pay for a vote.
The full archive of the alleged correspondence can be accessed here.
Alleged correspondence between lawmaker Oleksandr Onyshchenko and allies of President Petro Poroshenko.
Onyshchenko claimed in response to the report that Slidstvo.info journalist Dmytro Gnap had distorted the information and that he had not given him his phone. Gnap told the Kyiv Post that Onyshchenko was lying, saying that Onyshchenko had initially been angry with Tymoshenko and given the messages to Slidstvo.info but later did not want them to be published because he was interested in promoting Tymoshenko’s interests.
However, the Kyiv Post confirmed the authenticity of some of the correspondence, because in 2016 Onyshchenko sent some of the messages later published by Slidstvo.info to the Kyiv Post, saying they were authentic. Thus, Onyshchenko later contradicted himself.
The alleged correspondence is corraborated by Onyshchenko’s earlier accusations about vote buying in parliament.
Below are some of the alleged Whatsapp conversations published by Slidstvo.info:
The first conversation is on the appointment of Oleksiy Malovatsky, a lawyer for Poroshenko’s 2014 election campaign, to the High Council of Justice in 2015
Kononenko: Sasha, talk to Yulia (Tymoshenko) about her support for our candidacy for the High Council of Justice. (Batkivshchyna party lawmaker Serhiy) Vlasenko is against it.
Onyshchenko: She and I will visit the boss (Poroshenko) today.
Second conversation, on the appointment of Malovatsky
Onyshchenko: I talked to Yu. V. (Yulia Vladimirovna Tymoshenko). She’s fine with that. She’s waiting for documents (money) tomorrow. That’s why she’ll do everything.
Berezenko: She told her faction they can vote how they want. There will be seven people at most. That’s what Vlasenko said. This is not a deal!
Onyshchenko: I’ll tell her what you said now.
Berezenko: We should visually monitor how many are there, or take their voting cards away.
Onyshchenko: Ok. Everyone will vote, except for Vlasenko. That’s what she (Tymoshenko) said.
Conversation on an urban planning law in 2015
Berezenko: Law No. 1735. tomorrow. Very Important. Can YuVT (Yulia Vladimirovna Tymoshenko) support?
Onyshchenko: What is it about?
Berezenko: Urban planning law. This is not politics, just work. I’ll dance it out (pay).
Conversation on an agricultural law in 2015
Berezenko: Tomorrow, agricultural law No. 2527. Can YuVT (Yulia Vladimirovna Tymoshenko) support?
Onyshchenko: I’ll find out… She’ll support it. The boss (Poroshenko) should talk to her. He’s ignoring her. He told me to block her from everything and that she’d become too nasty.
Berezenko: He’s not around. When he’s here, we’ll organize (a meeting).
Onyshchenko. Ok. (Tymoshenko said) ‘We’ll support everything. I’m waiting for your people to supply oxygen (money).”
Amber production law
Berezenko: We need (her support) for amber a lot.
Onyshchenko: She confirmed. Moreover, I gave her 150 (thousand dollars). So she’ll do it. Let (People’s Will lawmaker) Oles (Dovhiy) come over to Abdulin if something comes up.
Ok. We got it.
First conversation on an unidentified vote
Kononenko: Hi Sasha. Give the girl (Tymoshenko) 1m ($1 million). I’ll close (pay) tomorrow.
Onyshchenko: OK.
Second conversation on an unidentified vote
Onyshchenko: There’s no news? The lady (Tymoshenko) is asking for a gift (money) on March 8. Nobody has gotten in touch yet.
Pasenyuk: If nobody has gotten in touch yet, I’ll ask again.
Third conversation on an unidentified vote
Onyshchenko: What about the aunt (Tymoshenko)? Ready?
Berezenko: Call me.
Onyshchenko: We got the documents (money).
Berezenko: Do you confirm having gotten one book ($1 million) from my assistant?
Onyshchenko: Yes.
Zlochevsky recording
Onyshchenko late on April 18 published what he claimed to be a recording implicating Poroshenko and ex-President Viktor Yanukovych’s Ecology Minister Mykola Zlochevsky in corrupt deals.
The Presidential Administration responded to the recording by saying on April 19 that “fakes do not require comments.”
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine has charged Onyshchenko with stealing Hr 1.6 billion ($64 million) from state-owned gas producer Ukrgazvydobuvannya, which he denies. He fled Ukraine before he was stripped of his parliamentary immunity in 2016.
