CEO Roman Panasyuk confirmed that documents have been seized and said that the company turned to the state investigation organ itself when the Slava Ukraini scandal came to light.

Zaxid.net reports that IC Construction's Lviv offices were searched on June 23. Hennadi Vaskiv, head of charity fund "All for Victory" that also has ties to Slava Ukraini, said on the day that the fund and its partners have assembled and handed over business documents to the authorities. Vaskiv refused to shed light on what kind of documents were handed over, as well as concerns the nature of proceedings.

Panasyuk has told Zaxid.net that the company launched an in-house audit on June 2 and that the report should be in next week.

It turned out in April that NGO Slava Ukraini has transferred €1.5 million in donations from people in Estonia to a Ukrainian private company called IC Construction, which was tied to its Ukrainian partner, probably had a fictitious owner and the only business activity of which was tied to the Estonian nonprofit. The firm reported a profit of €250,000 last year.

The Ukrainian National Bureau of Investigation launched a pretrial investigation on March 24, with criminal proceedings brought based on the sections of embezzlement and use of humanitarian aid and charitable donations for profit. The case is being investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation because of the involvement of state officials.

The Estonian prosecution said on May 9 that it has launched an investigation of its own to get to the bottom of the NGO's use of funds. Proceedings are based on the section of embezzlement. Lehtme was recalled from the Slava Ukraini board the same day.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!