Prosecutors in Ukraine have asked the court to impose a bailout of one billion hryvnia (31 million euros) on former state president Petro Poroshenko, who returned to Ukraine on Monday to face charges of treason, although he considers them politically motivated.
A spokesman for the prosecution insisted that Poroshenko could be released on bail of one billion hryvnia on security, provided he wore an electronic tracking bracelet.
It has already been reported that the prosecutor’s office claims that Poroshenko, one of Ukraine’s richest businessmen, was involved in a coal sale that benefited financially from Russian-backed militant gangs in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and 2015.
Poroshenko’s funds in the investigation are frozen. If convicted of treason, he could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.
Poroshenko insists he is not guilty of these allegations.
He accuses his successor as president, Volodymyr Zelensky, of trying to discredit him in order to divert public attention from Ukraine’s problems, including economic woes and pandemics.
Since the end of Poroshenko’s presidency, he has been accused of raising undemocratic bills in Ukraine and causing concern among Ukraine’s allies.
Poroshenko lost her election in 2019 after a corruption scandal and controversial reforms, but has gained patriotic fame for modernizing Ukraine’s army and fighting Russian-backed militant gangs in eastern Ukraine.
Zelensky has said he is fighting the oligarchs to reduce their influence in Ukraine’s political and economic life.
Poroshenko has been outside Ukraine in recent weeks, meeting with leaders in Brussels, Berlin and other European capitals, but returned to Kiev on Monday, where several thousand supporters met him at the airport.
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