The opposition faction BYuT-Batkivshchyna agreed to use money received as a result of an operation to expose bribery in the Verkhovna Rada for the treatment of sick children. Kommersant-Ukraine writes about this.

The money in question was received by BYuT deputy Roman Zabzalyuk from the pro-government deputy group “Reforms for the Future.” According to the parliamentarian, he was paid 450 thousand dollars for leaving the opposition faction (and, accordingly, joining the ranks of the parliamentary majority). In addition, as Zabzalyuk reported, he received another 50 thousand as additional remuneration.

Reforms for the Future admitted that they gave Zabzalyuk a significant amount. True, the representative of this deputy group, Vladimir Kaplienko, argued that it was not about 450 thousand, but about 100 thousand dollars, and that the money was allegedly collected for Zabzalyuk “for treatment”, and not for leaving the BYuT.

At the same time, the leader of the group, Igor Rybakov, first demanded that the money be returned, and then that it be given for the treatment of sick children. Otherwise, he threatened the whistleblower of corruption with prison.

Zabzalyuk previously stated that the money received during the operation to infiltrate “Reforms for the Future” and expose corruption would be spent on the election campaign and “intensifying the fight against the regime.” Later, however, he said that he was ready to transfer the specified amount to the prosecutor's office as material evidence. True, as LigaBusinessInform reported , the deputy noted that the money will be transferred only “when we understand that it will not be lost.”

Zabzalyuk also expressed doubt that the corruption case could be fairly investigated by the “so-called law enforcement structures” existing in Ukraine.

A new version of how BYuT will manage the money was voiced by faction leader Andrei Kozhemyakin . “The amount received by Roman Zabzalyuk from Igor Rybakov will be distributed among sick children. After that, we will report to society where this money went,” he said.

Roman Zabzalyuk left the BYuT faction in December and joined Reforms for the Future. Then this news shocked his opposition colleagues, since the deputy was considered a loyal supporter of Yulia Tymoshenko . However, on February 8, Zabzalyuk held a press conference, announcing that he had deliberately played the role of a defector in order to obtain evidence of bribery in the Rada.

Let us recall that since 2010, when Viktor Yanukovych and his Party of Regions came to power in Ukraine, the outflow of opposition deputies from the parliamentary factions BYuT and NUNS (Our Ukraine - People's Self-Defense) began. They went over to the side of the authorities, while remaining non-factional (some of them united in the group “Reforms for the Future”). The opposition has repeatedly stated that the government recruits such deputies (they are nicknamed “carcasses” in the press) for money. The “Regionals” rejected accusations of bribery.

BYuT agreed to distribute "trophy" half a million dollars to children