Tag: rejects

Heads roll in Ukraine graft purge, but defense chief Reznikov rejects rumors he’s out

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KYIV — Heads are rolling in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s expanding purge against corruption in Ukraine, but Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov is denying rumors that he’s destined for the exit — a move that would be viewed as a considerable setback for Kyiv in the middle of its war with Russia.
Two weeks ago, Ukraine was shaken by two major corruption scandals centered on government procurement of military catering services and electrical generators. Rather than sweeping the suspect deals under the carpet, Zelenskyy launched a major crackdown, in a bid to show allies in the U.S. and EU that Ukraine is making a clean break from the past.
Tetiana Shevchuk, a lawyer with the Anti-Corruption Action Center, a watchdog, said Zelenskyy needed to draw a line in the sand: “Because even when the war is going on, people saw that officials are conducting ‘business as usual’. They saw that corrupt schemes have not disappeared, and it made people really angry. Therefore, the president had to show he is on the side of fighting against corruption.”
Since the initial revelations, the graft investigations have snowballed, with enforcers uncovering further possible profiteering in the defense ministry. Two former deputy defense ministers have been placed in pre-trial detention.
Given the focus on his ministry in the scandal, speculation by journalists and politicians has swirled that Reznikov — one of the best-known faces of Ukraine’s war against the Russian invaders — is set to be fired or at least transferred to another ministry.
But losing such a top name would be a big blow. At a press conference on Sunday, Reznikov dismissed the claims about his imminent departure as rumors and said that only Zelenskyy was in a position to remove him. Although Reznikov admits the anti-corruption department at his ministry failed and needs reform, he said he was still focused on ensuring that Ukraine’s soldiers were properly equipped.
“Our key priority now is the stable supply of Ukrainian soldiers with all they need,” Reznikov said during the press conference.
Despite his insistence that any decision on his removal could only come from Zelenskyy, Reznikov did still caution that he was ready to depart — and that no officials would serve in their posts forever.

The speculation about Reznikov’s fate picked up on Sunday when David Arakhamia, head of Zelenskyy’s affiliated Servant of the People party faction in the parliament, published a statement saying Reznikov would soon be transferred to the position of minister for strategic industries to strengthen military-industrial cooperation. Major General Kyrylo Budanov, current head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, would head the Ministry of Defense, Arakhamia said.
However, on Monday, Arakhamia seemed to row back somewhat, and claimed no reshuffle in the defense ministry was planned for this week. Mariana Bezuhla, deputy head of the national security and defense committee in the Ukrainian parliament, also said that the parliament had decided to postpone any staff decisions in the defense ministry as they consider the broader risks for national defense ahead of another meeting of defense officials at the U.S. Ramstein air base in Germany and before an expected upcoming Russian offensive.
Zelenskyy steps in
The defense ministry is not the only department to be swept up in the investigations. Over the first days of February, the Security Service of Ukraine, State Investigation Bureau, and Economic Security Bureau conducted dozens of searches at the customs service, the tax service and in local administrations. Officials of several different levels were dismissed en masse for sabotaging their service during war and hurting the state.
“Unfortunately, in some areas, the only way to guarantee legitimacy is by changing leaders along with the implementation of institutional changes,” Zelenskyy said in a video address on February 1. “I see from the reaction in society that people support the actions of law enforcement officers. So, the movement towards justice can be felt. And justice will be ensured.”
Yuriy Nikolov, founder of the Nashi Groshi (Our Money) investigative website, who broke the story about the defense ministry’s alleged profiteering on food and catering services for soldiers in January, said the dismissals and continued searches were first steps in the right direction.
“Now let’s wait for the court sentences. It all looked like a well-coordinated show,” Nikolov told POLITICO.  “At the same time, it is good that the government prefers this kind of demonstrative fight against corruption, instead of covering up corrupt officials.”
Still, even though Reznikov declared zero tolerance for corruption and admitted that defense procurement during war needs reform, he has still refused to publish army price contract data on food and non-secret equipment, Nikolov said.
During his press conference, Reznikov insisted he could not reveal sensitive military information during a period of martial law as it could be used by the enemy. “We have to maintain the balance of public control and keep certain procurement procedures secret,” he said.
Two deputies down
Alleged corruption in secret procurement deals has, however, already cost him two of his deputies.
Deputy Defense Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, who oversaw logistical support for the army, tendered his resignation in January following a scandal involving the purchase of military rations at inflated prices. In his resignation letter, Shapovalov asked to be dismissed in order “not to pose a threat to the stable supply of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a result of a campaign of accusations related to the purchase of food services.”
Another of Reznikov’s former deputies, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, who managed defense procurement in the ministry until December, was also arrested over accusations he lobbied for a purchase of 3,000 poor-quality bulletproof vests for the army worth more than 100 million hryvnias (€2.5 million), the Security Service of Ukraine reported.  If found guilty he faces up to eight years in prison. The director of the company that supplied the bulletproof vests under the illicit contract has been identified as a suspect by the authorities and now faces up to 12 years in prison if found guilty.
Both ex-officials can be released on bail.
Another unnamed defense ministry official, a non-staff adviser to the deputy defense minister of Ukraine, was also identified as a suspect in relation to the alleged embezzlement of 1.7 billion hryvnias (€43 million) from the defense budget, the General Prosecutors Office of Ukraine reported.
When asked about corruption cases against former staffers, Reznikov stressed people had to be considered innocent until proven guilty.
Reputational risk
At the press conference on Sunday, Reznikov claimed that during his time in the defense ministry, he managed to reorganize it, introduced competition into food supplies and filled empty stocks.
However, the anti-corruption department of the ministry completely failed, he admitted. He argued the situation in the department was so unsatisfactory that the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption gave him an order to conduct an official audit of employees. And it showed the department had to be reorganized.
“At a closed meeting with the watchdogs and investigative journalists I offered them to delegate people to the reloaded anti-corruption department. We also agreed to create a public anti-corruption council within the defense ministry,” Reznikov said.
Nikolov was one of the watchdogs attending the closed meeting. He said the minister did not bring any invoices or receipts for food products for the army, or any corrected contract prices to the meeting. Moreover, the minister called the demand to reveal the price of an egg or a potato “an idiocy” and said prices should not be published at all, Nikolov said in a statement. Overpriced eggs were one of the features of the inflated catering contracts that received particular public attention.
Reznikov instead suggested creating an advisory body with the public. He would also hold meetings, and working groups, and promised to provide invoices upon request, the journalist added.
“So far, it looks like the head of state, Zelenskyy, has lost patience with the antics of his staff, but some of his staff do not want to leave their comfort zone and are trying to leave some corruption options for themselves for the future,” Nikolov said.
Reznikov was not personally accused of any wrongdoing by law enforcement agencies.
But the minister acknowledged that there was reputational damage in relation to his team and communications. “This is a loss of reputation today, it must be recognized and learned from,” he said. At the same time, he believed he had nothing to be ashamed of: “My conscience is absolutely clear,” he said.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

February 6, 2023
Guj court rejects bail pleas of seven accused in Morbi bridge collapse case

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Morbi: A court here on Saturday rejected the bail applications of seven people arrested in connection with the collapse of a suspension bridge in Morbi town of Gujarat, in which 135 people were killed.
The court of principal sessions judge P C Joshi refused to grant bail to the seven accused, including two managers of Oreva Group, the company which was given the contract for operation and maintenance of the bridge.
The British-era bridge on Machchhu river collapsed on October 30, 2022, days after it was reopened following repairs.
Jaysukh Patel, the managing director of Oreva Group, had surrendered before a court here on February 1 before his arrest.
The Morbi police had last week filed a chargesheet in the case, in which 10 persons have been arrested so far, including Patel.
The other nine arrested persons include two managers of the firm, two ticket-booking clerks, three security guards and two sub-contractors who were engaged for the repair works by Oreva Group.
The bail pleas of these nine persons were rejected earlier by the Gujarat High Court and sessions court. Except the two sub-contractors, the other seven once again approached court for bail on Thursday.
Earlier, a special investigation team (SIT), which was formed by the state government to probe the collapse, had cited several lapses on the part of the firm.
Nearly 250 persons were on the hanging bridge, a popular tourist site, when it caved in.

According to the SIT, the lapses included lack of restriction on the number of persons accessing the bridge and no curb on sale of tickets, which led to unrestricted movement on the structure, and carrying out repairs without consulting experts.
The probe had revealed the new metal flooring done by the firm had increased the weight of the structure and it had failed to change the rusted cables on which the entire bridge was hanging.
Apart from this, the contractors hired by Patel’s firm were not qualified to carry out such repair and renovation work, the SIT stated.
The probe report also revealed the Oreva Group did not hire any expert agency to assess the load-bearing capacity of the carriageway before throwing it open to the public after repair and renovation work.
The prosecution had earlier informed the lower court that the firm had sold 3,165 tickets on the day of the collapse alone and there was no coordination between ticket booking offices on both sides of the bridge.
All 10 accused, including Jaysukh Patel, have been charged under the Indian Penal Code sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 336 (act which endangers human life), 337 (causing hurt to any person by doing any rash or negligent act) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by doing rash or negligent act).
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 4, 2023
SC rejects plea seeking to bar candidates from contesting polls from more than one seat

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea seeking to bar persons from contesting elections from more than one seat, saying it is ultimately the Parliament’s will as to whether the political democracy in the country is furthered by granting a choice.
A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud observed that candidates may contest polls from more than one constituency due to a variety of reasons.
The bench, also comprising justices PS Narasimha and J B Pardiwala, was dealing with a petition filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who had sought to declare as invalid and ultra vires to the Constitution section 33(7) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which allows a person to contest a general election or a group of bypolls or biennial elections from two constituencies.
“Permitting a candidate to contest from more than one seat…is a matter of legislative policy since it is ultimately the Parliament’s will as to whether the political democracy in the country is furthered by granting such a choice,” it said.
The top court observed that in the absence of any manifest arbitrariness in section 33(7) of the 1951 Act, it would not be possible for it to strike down the provision.
During the arguments, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who appeared on behalf of Upadhyay, submitted that if a candidate contests an election from two seats and gets elected from both, he or she has to vacate one seat, which will lead to a by-poll that will be an additional financial burden on the exchequer.
He said prior to a 1996 amendment, there was no bar on the number of seats a candidate could contest in an election. The amendment restricted that number to two.
The bench observed that it is for Parliament to decide whether a candidate can contest an election from more than one seat.

“When you contest from two seats, you do not know from where you will get elected. What is wrong about it? This is part of electoral democracy,” it said.
The bench said Parliament can certainly step in, as it did in 1996, and say it is limiting it to one constituency.
“At the relevant time, if Parliament thinks necessary, it can do it. There is no question of inaction.
“There is another way of looking at it. Some political leader might say I want to establish my pan-India image by contesting an election…like from the north-east and north or south,” the bench said, adding there have been instances in the country’s political history which depict that there have been leaders of that stature.
The top court noted that one of the basis of the petition is that in July 2004, the then chief election commissioner had urged the then prime minister to amend section 33(7) of the 1951 Act in so far as it permits a person to contest an election from more than one seat.
It said the petitioner has also referred to the 255th report of the Law Commission, which had agreed with the Election Commission (EC) that the 1951 Act should be amended to provide that a person be not allowed to contest an election from more than one seat.
In his plea, Upadhyay had sought a direction to the Centre and the EC to take appropriate steps to restrict people from contesting an election for the same office from more than one constituency simultaneously.
“One person-one vote and one candidate-one constituency is the dictum of democracy. However, as per the law, as it stands today, a person can contest the election for the same office from two constituencies simultaneously.”
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 2, 2023
Biden seemingly rejects request to send U.S. F-16s to Ukraine

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But a U.S. official, when asked about Biden’s remark, said “there has been no serious, high-level discussion about F-16s.” In other words, it doesn’t appear that Biden’s pronouncement is the result of an internal policy review and instead is the current stance of the ultimate decision maker. That official spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal internal matters.
It’s also unclear from the video of the short exchange if the president’s “no” meant “never” or “not now.” The administration has said repeatedly that decisions about security assistance depend on battlefield realities in Ukraine. In a Thursday interview with MSNBC, deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said the U.S. would be discussing fighter jets “very carefully” with Kyiv and its allies.
“We have not ruled in or out any specific systems,” he added.
Another possibility is that the U.S. could approve the re-export of F-16s from third-party countries that operate them, a requirement for the transfer of the American-made warplanes.
Discussions about sending F-16s to Ukraine are gaining steam at the Pentagon, with one U.S. Defense Department official telling POLITICO last week: “I don’t think we are opposed.”
Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy, said Monday that Poland would be willing to provide its F-16s to Ukraine in coordination with NATO. Yet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has repeatedly rejected any F-16-related requests emanating from Kyiv.
“The question of combat aircraft does not arise at all,” Scholz said in an interview with Tagesspiegel published on Sunday. “I can only advise against entering into a constant competition to outbid each other when it comes to weapons systems.”

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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

January 31, 2023
Syria rejects report on chemical weapon attack in 2018

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Damascus: The Syrian Foreign Ministry has slammed as “lacking credibility” a recent report by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) accusing the Syrian air force of being behind a 2018 alleged chemical attack near the capital Damascus.
In a statement, the Ministry on Saturday listed Syria’s own accusations and condemnations in response to the OPCW report, pointing at the possible role of the US in politicising and fabricating reports about incidents in Syria, Xinhua news agency reported.
“The report lacks any scientific and objective evidence, and no sane person or specialist can reach the misleading conclusions of its authors, who neglected the objective observations raised by state parties, experts, academics, and former inspectors from the organisation who are known for their experience and knowledge,” the Ministry said.
It urged the OPCW and the UN to assume their responsibilities to preserve the independence, credibility, and future of the OPCW, and not to allow the US-led Western countries to dominate its work and role, or to politicise its tasks and use it as a tool to achieve their political goals.
On Friday, the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team issued a report, claiming that “there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Syrian Arab Air Forces were the perpetrators of the chemical weapons attack on April 7, 2018, in Douma, Syria”.
It said that during the attack, at least one helicopter of the Syrian “Tiger Forces” Elite Unit dropped two yellow cylinders containing toxic chlorine gas on two apartment buildings in a civilian residential area in Douma, killing 43 named individuals and affecting dozens more.
The Syrian government has repeatedly denied previous reports that indicated an involvement of the Syrian military in the alleged attack.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Siasat staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 29, 2023
Cattle scam: ED hopeful as Delhi court rejects Anubrata’s bail plea

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Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) probing the multi-crore cattle smuggling scam in West Bengal is now hopeful of taking Trinamool Congress strongman and the party’s Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal to Delhi for questioning after the Rouse Avenue Court in the national capital rejected the latter’s bail plea on Tuesday.
However, sources said that ED will have to wait for a decision of the Delhi High Court on this count.
“Mondal had adopted the path of approaching multiple courts to stop us from taking him to Delhi for questioning. Accordingly, his counsels moved bail pleas in both Rouse Avenue Court and Delhi High Court. Now with the Rouse Avenue Court rejecting his bail petition, the first hurdle is clear. We will now have to wait for the Delhi High Court’s decision on this count,” said a legal associate of the central agency.
Mondal’s bodyguard Sehgal Hossain, who was also arrested in connection with the cattle smuggling scam, is currently under judicial custody at Delhi’s Tihar Jail. Sources said that the reason why the ED is so keen to take Mondal to the national capital is to place him face-to-face with Hossain and question the two together.
The hearing in the matter was scheduled at Delhi High Court on Monday. However, it did not happen because of the absence of the judge concerned and the next date of hearing has been scheduled on February 2.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 24, 2023
WFI rejects wrestlers’ sexual harassment allegations; claims ‘protest motivated’

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New Delhi: The Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has rejected all the allegations, including that of sexual harassment against its president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, and claimed that the wrestlers’ protest was motivated by a “hidden agenda to dislodge the current management”.
The WFI denied all the charges in its response to the government’s notice and asserted that “there is no scope for arbitrariness and mismanagement ” in the federation.
The Sports Ministry had sought an explanation from WFI after the country’s top wrestlers sat on a dharna and alleged that the federation chief sexually harassed women wrestlers and acts like a “dictator”.
The WFI sent its reply on Friday evening and, a few hours later, the wrestlers called off their protest after the government announced that it will form an oversight committee to probe the charges. It also said the WFI chief will step aside till the investigation is over.
“The WFI is managed by an elected body as per its constitution, and therefore, there is no scope for arbitrariness and mismanagement in WFI by any one individually, including the president,” the WFI said in its response to the Sports Ministry.
“The WFI, in particular, under the sitting president has always acted keeping the best interests of wrestlers in mind.
“The WFI has enhanced the image of wrestling sport nationally as well as internationally and for the record of this ministry, it is not possible without fair, supportive, clean and strict management of WFI,” it added.
The allegations were made by renowned wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, Sakshi Malik and Ravi Dahiya.

The federation brought to the notice of the government that it has a five-member sexual harassment committee in place, chaired by its secretary general VN Prasood and which also has Sakshi as a member.
It said the charges were “motivated, biased, unfounded, untrue and false” and that the allegations were made solely with a view to harm the president, the WFI and its coaches.
“Any aggrieved person/wrestler may approach the said committee for its grievances if any, and the committee is bound to inquire as per law. However, no such complaint of any such nature as has been received from the protestors/wrestlers,” the WFI wrote.
The wrestlers, including young Anshu Malik, Sangeeta Phogat and Sonam Malik among others, started a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar here on Wednesday and demanded the sacking of the WFI chief.
The wrestlers also demanded that the WFI be disbanded immediately and a new panel is formed, including grapplers.
The WFI listed 23 national events conducted in 2022 and claimed it “speaks of fair, supportive, clean and strict management”.
The WFI questioned the timing of the protest, and said vested interests are behind it.
“…who have evidently acted more in personal interest or under undue pressure or under any bigger conspiracy to malign and defame the present management of the WFI or president for vested interest only.
“The protesting wrestlers are accountable to explain for themselves, to the public as well as the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, particularly when mostly the protestors are seen coming together from a particulars region/state of Haryana,” the federation wrote.
“It would also be worth drawing attention that even the next election of WFI is due in near future of 2023… that the protest is not in the best interest of the wrestlers, it has some personal as well as hidden agenda to dislodge the current management of WFI.”
The letter, signed by WFI secretary general V N Prasood, also said that the federation is ready to cooperate with the government and will provide all the necessary information the ministry seeks.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

January 21, 2023