KYIV – Lawmakers voted to strip Vadym Novinsky, 53, of his parliamentary immunity from prosecution on December 8 based on a motion filed by the prosecutor general that he allegedly was involved in kidnapping.
The Russian-born oligarch and ally of disgraced ex-President Viktor Yanukovych called the measure “politically motivated” and “fabricated” as did his party, the Opposition Bloc, an offshoot of the former ruling Party of Regions.
“I will accept your decision calmly, whatever it will be,” Mr. Novinsky said before the vote. “Because I know that the truth is on my side, and the truth always wins.”
Mr. Novinsky said he will not “run away” or attempt to avoid the investigation, according to a post-vote briefing.
Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko has yet to name Mr. Novinsky a suspect. Formal criminal charges also hadn’t been filed as of December 14.
A native of Novgorod Oblast in Russia, Mr. Novinsky is suspected of abuse of power while a national deputy and complicity in the 2012 kidnapping of then-Archbishop Oleksandr Drabynko, who was an aide to the late leader of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Volodymyr Sabodan. Authorities say the aim was to install a Church leader more loyal to Mr. Yanukovych.
Mr. Novinsky has repeatedly denied the allegations. “I’m an Orthodox person, Orthodox businessman,” he told the Kyiv Post in a recent report.
Kidnapping in Ukraine is punishable by up to five years in prison.
A devout follower of the Russian Orthodox faith, Mr. Novinsky has an estimated net worth of $546 million, according to a joint report by Novoe Vremya magazine and the investment bank Dragon capital.
His Smart Holding group has assets in shipbuilding, oil and gas, farming and food processing. He owns a quarter of a stake in steel conglomerate Metinvest, which is majority-owned by Ukraine’s richest billionaire, Rinat Akhmetov, another former ally of Mr. Yanukovych. The two men are also partners in HarvEast, a large farming business.
Mr. Novinsky became a Ukrainian citizen in 2012, under Mr. Yanukovych’s presidency, and the following year was elected to the Verkhovna Rada in the single-mandate district of Sevastopol in Crimea. He joined the Party of Regions soon after being sworn in. He defended the exiled president to the end and called participants of the Euro-Maidan revolution that ousted Mr. Yanukovych “little devils.”
In addition, Mr. Novinsky has described the war in Donbas as “fratricidal.” In his asset declaration for 2015, he had $2.3 million, 780,000 euros and 3 million hrv in cash. His spouse and daughters held 47,328 rubles and over 7,000 euros in their bank accounts.