KYIV -- Ukraine's Prosecutor-General Andriy Kostin failed to show at the Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council) on June 19 where he had been summoned by lawmakers over a media report involving the real estate dealings of his deputy, Dmytro Verbytskiy.
Kostin said in a letter addressed to House Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk that he was not present because discussion of the matter in parliament should wait "until the results of an official internal investigative report" are delivered.
"This will make it possible to ensure the completeness and objectivity of the relevant information," said Kostin's letter, read aloud in parliament.
A day earlier, lawmakers voted to summon Kostin after a report by Skhemy (Schemes), an investigative reporting unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, revealed that Verbytskiy and his girlfriend own an expensive car and two luxurious houses in prestigious areas of Kyiv that appeared to be beyond the means of people in their official positions.
Skhemy's investigative report revealed earlier that Verbytskiy resides in a two-story townhouse in the elite cottage area of Konyk in Kyiv, which his nephew purchased under a power of attorney for a businessman registered in the Black Sea port city of Odesa for a price six times lower than the market value.
Another Skhemy report said earlier this year Verbytskiy's girlfriend, Khrystyna Ilnytska, obtained a new Porsche automobile and a three-story townhouse in Konyk estimated to be worth at least 52 million hryvnyas ($1,270,000).
Her total income shown in official declarations over the last decade amounted to slightly more than 360,000 hryvnyas ($8,800).
Ukraine's Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office told RFE/RL earlier that after Skhemy's reports, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau had initiated criminal proceedings regarding the possible illegal activity of Verbytskiy.
