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Timoshenko refuses to appear at court session on UESU case

Leader of the Ukrainian opposition and former prime minister Yulia Timoshenko

KIEV, November 23 (Itar-Tass) —— Leader of the Ukrainian opposition and former prime minister Yulia Timoshenko, who is currently serving a seven-year term for acting in excess of office duties while signing gas contracts with Russia in 2009, has refused to appear at court which plans to hear on November 23 the case against her on charges of financial abuse while being the top executive of Ukraine’s corporation United Energy Systems, the press service of the Ukrainian penitentiary service reported on Thursday.

“After being notified about a request for summons at a session of Kharkov’s Kievsky district court on November 23, Timoshenko signed another statement of refusal,” the press service said. The explained her refusal by the fact that she was undergoing medical rehabilitation treatment at an in-patient establishment.

On November 13, the court postponed the hearing of this case on November 23. Court session on this case of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine corporation were held on April 19, 20, and 28, on May 21, on June 25, on July 10,23, and 31, on August 14, on September 11, and on October 15.

Timoshenko was head of the Unified Energy Systems of Ukraine /UESU/ in 1995-1997.

Prosecutors said Timoshenko was accused within the framework of the new case of masterminding the theft of budget funds, attempted theft of 25 million hrivnas /more than 3 million dollars/, 4-million-hrivna /500,000 dollars/ tax evasion, fraud in office, and the failure to pay 681,000 hrivnas /more than 80,000 dollars/ of income tax.

According to the indictment, Timoshenko, as president of the UESU private company, planned and carried through a scheme to imitate transfers through the Golden Union Offshore Bank on Cyprus and the Yuzhkombank she controlled. The scheme involved two companies subordinate to Timoshenko: Somolli Enterprises Limited and Corlan Enterprises Limited; they, too, were used to imitate fund transfers.

She is now being treated at a Kharkov hospital. Her illness aggravated at the Kachanovskya penitentiary where she is serving a seven-year prison term for exceeding her authority at the post of prime minister when singing contracts of natural gas supplies with Russia in 2009.

Timoshenko has been in hospital since May 9.

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