Transparency International vs Natalia Poklonskaya: the finding in Donetsk and the offer to cut firewood
There is a new surge of attention to State Duma Deputy and former Prosecutor General of the Republic of Crimea Natalia Poklonskaya. This time not because of the film Matilda. The organization Transparency International has published an article that states that the deputy probably has not specified an apartment with an area of 29,9 square metres in Donetsk in the income declaration. This article appeared after Poklonskaya proposed to check Transparency International and FBK for corruption. Realnoe Vremya tells why not only housing but also the personal life of Poklonskaya arouse such an interest.
''Guilty conscience is speaking''
The confrontation between Natalia Poklonskaya and the Russian branch of Transparency International began with a statement of the Deputy of the State Duma. Poklonskaya proposed to check the Anti-Corruption Foundation of Alexei Navalny and the Russian branch of Transparency International for corruption. According to her, it is possible that these organizations ''most of all cry out about corruption'' because ''their guilty conscience is speaking'', reports RNS.
''Have to do an investigation''
The answer was not long in coming. ''I wanted to relax a bit, and instead, I have to do an investigation of Madam ex-Prosecutor,'' wrote in Facebook Deputy Head of the Russian branch of Transparency International Russia Ilya Shumanov.
Shumanov's publication did not go unnoticed by colleagues of Natalia Poklonskaya. A Deputy of the United Russia Vasily Piskarev prepared a complaint to the General Prosecutor, explaining that such statements ''cannot be ignored''. Deputy from the United Russia Yevgeny Fyodorov stated that he believes Transparency to be hostile organisation towards Russia and he will seek its ban, reported Medusa newspaper.
Natalia Poklonskaya, in her turn, stated that she was ready to show her property if Transparency International do the same thing, reports RIA Novosti.
Come in, dear guests
Former Prosecutor of Crimea, now Deputy of the State Duma Natalia Poklonskaya has really shown the apartment where she lives. As Poklonskaya said in an interview to RIA Novosti, the journalists of the TV channel Dozhd were waiting for her at the entrance and asked to show the apartment. Apparently, we are talking about the housing on the street Olofa Palme, 1, in Moscow. This apartment belongs to the Administration of the President and was provided to Poklonskaya as a member of the State Duma who has no own housing in the capital of the country. In the same interview, Natalia Poklonskaya said that the crew of Dozhd channel came to the parents' house in Crimea.
Indeed, the former Prosecutor of Crimea gave an interview to Dozhd on 1 June 2017. It was mentioned another housing — an apartment in Simferopol. This property is service one and purchased for Polonskaya when she was an attorney of the Peninsula because she did not have a personal housing at the duty station in Simferopol.
Poklonskaya also stated that she can use the apartment until the Commission at the Prosecutor's office renders a decision — whether she can privatize the apartment or she has to leave.
No husband
The topic of Poklonskaya's personal life was raised due to the fact that the deputy does not register her husband (and possibly his property) in the tax declaration. Grounds to believe that Natalia Poklonskaya is married can be, for example, an article of TASS. The publication devoted to Poklonskaya a special project. In particular, in the article there can be found the following words: ''Now, according to the Prosecutor, she does not stay here at nights: less work, her husband and daughter are waiting at home.'' The article was published in 2016.
''We are officially divorced, divorced a long time ago. It's my personal life, and it's nobody's business,'' Poklonskaya stated to Dozhd channel in the interview on 1 June of this year. One must declare the spouse or the person with whom they have a joint household, live together. I do not live with anyone together. As for what I had before — I am not obliged to write my biography, my history with whom I had lived before and what kind of relationship we had. Let this be my story. As for the veracity and legality of the registration of the declaration, everything is registered legally and authentically. I never hid anything. I don't have a joint residence, joint property, joint affairs with a man, a man I have to specify in the declaration.''
In the same interview, the deputy refused to answer the question about a possible wedding, citing the fact it is her personal issue.
Cut firewood
On 7 June, Transparency International on its website published an article stating that Deputy Head of the Duma Committee for security and combating corruption Natalia Poklonskaya possibly has not specified in the declaration of income the apartment with an area of 29,9 square metres in Donetsk, on the street Rimsky-Korsakov. The living space is registered on the name of Natalya Vladimirovna Dubrovskaya, her date of birth coincides with the date of Polonskaya's birth. Transparency International reports that Dubrovskaya is the maiden name of the former Prosecutor of Crimea. Her daughter is registered in VKontakte under the same surname.
In the material of the organization it is noted that since the inclusion of Crimea in the composition of Russia, the local Prosecutor's office bought six apartments for its executives. The size of the apartment given to Poklonskaya is 116,6 square metres. In accordance with the article 104 of the Housing code of the Russian Federation, Poklonskaya had to leave the service apartment in Simferopol in September 2016, when she left the post of the Prosecutor of Crimea to be Deputy of the State Duma. At the same time, the Prosecutor's office acquired another apartment with the total area of 74,1 square metres for 4,96 million rubles – presumably, for Oleg Kamshilov, who replaced Poklonskaya in her former position and moved to Simferopol from Moscow, where he was First Deputy Prosecutor of the city. On what basis Poklonskaya retained the Simferopol service apartment, instead of leaving it, is unclear.
Besides, Transparency International published tax declarations of Polonskaya (who is also Chairman of the State Duma Commission on control over reliability of data on incomes, property and obligations of property character represented by deputies) of recent years. So, it is the deputy and her daughter are indicated in the declaration for 2015. There is no husband mentioned in the publication by TASS.
''Do what they do – cut firewood''
Natalia Poklonskaya after the publication of Transparency International asked to check the organization. In her appeal to the Prosecutor General, the Investigative Committee and the FSB, she asks ''to assess their actions on the presence of signs of crimes'' and indicates that the publication ''contains provocative and slanderous information,'' reports Medusa.
''I will ask the Prosecutor General of Russia to check on the fact of the crimes committed. On the grounds of the articles [of the Criminal Code] 201 (abuse of authority by a person performing managerial functions in commercial purposes), 128.1 (slander), 137 (dissemination of information about private life without the consent of the person against a minor child), 170 (registration of illegal transactions with real estate),'' quotes RBC Poklonskaya.
In the interview she also stated that ''Transparency International will really do what they do – cut firewood''.