Filaret accuses Yurash of committing a criminal offence

Ex-Director of the Department of the Ministry of Culture for Religions and Nationalities Andrei Yurash. Photo: uatv.ua

“The Kiev Patriarchy as a religious center for the first time in the history of Ukraine has become a denouncer of the mega-crime. The entire Ukrainian nation will become eyewitnesses of this disclosure,” wrote Neonila Tkachenko, lawyer of the UOC-KP on her Facebook page, who published a statement on the crime drawn up on behalf of “patriarch” Filaret.

“I report on the commission of a criminal offence, the body of which is provided for in Part 5 of Art. 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, organized by a group on a particularly large scale. The specified crime consists in the appropriation of property of the religious organization ‘Kiev Patriarchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate’,” the statement said.

Among the illegally appropriated property is the residence of Filaret in Pushkinskaya St., St. Vladimir Cathedral, St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, as well as St. Theodosius and Vydubychi Monasteries.

As part of an organized group that committed the crime, according to the UOC-KP, among others, the director of the Department of Religious Affairs of the Ministry of Culture, Andrei Yurash, is indicated.

According to the claimant, “these persons upon having reached preliminary consent regarding the seizure of property of the religious organization ‘Kiev Patriarchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate’, abusing their official position, using their powers, access to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Associations , the State Register of rights to real estate and their encumbrances, committed an unlawful seizure of the property."

It is noted that in order to achieve their unlawful goal, the members of the organized group legalized the activities of the liquidation commission led by Oleg Yaremenko ("Metropolitan" of the OCU John) and "under the guise of liquidation actions, as a result of forgery of official documents <...> transferred to Mr. Yaremenko the property of the religious organization ‘Kiev Patriarchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate’.”

“Thus, under the guise of alleged legitimacy, they fulfilled the intent to seize property. The crime is considered to be completed from November 12, 2018, from the moment of transfer of the property, appropriated by Mr. Yaremenko, to the religious organization ‘Kiev Metropolis of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Orthodox Church of Ukraine) and actually its head – Sergei (Epiphany) Dumenko," the document reads.

The damage inflicted on the UOC-KP was assessed at UAH 281 634 256, 46. The application was sent to the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.

Recall that earlier the Kiev Patriarchate announced a new wave of raiding by the OCU.

As reported by the UOJ, Andrei Yurash, who is a defendant in the investigation of the State Security Service on the fact of fabricating evidence in the case against the cleric of the UOC, continues to fight for the post of head of the new public service to deal with religious issues.

Read also