Yanukovych’s ex-party top official, charged with treason, fled to Russia- report

Oleksandr Yefremov, the former head of the parliamentary faction of the Party of Regions, of fugitive president Viktor Yanukovych, fled Ukraine after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion through Slovakia, according to a report.

Skhemy, an investigative project by Radio Svoboda, reported the former MP, 69, is now living in Moscow in an elite 659 square metres’ apartment worth about USD 4 million, registered in the name of his son Ihor.

In 2017, Mr Yefremov was charged with treason for abetting the terrorist organisation of LNR [Luhansk People’s Republic], in particular helping seize administrative buildings in the city of Luhansk back in 2014. The city and part of the region is now being occupied by Russia.

In 2019, the ex-politician was released from custody awaiting trial and started travelling abroad, including to Russia.

He crossed the border in the Zakarpattia region in March 2022, several weeks after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and moved to Russia through Slovakia, Skhemy reported.

In addition to residing in Moscow, Mr Yefremov has an individual tax number and an insurance number in Russia, which would allow him to receive a pension, the report reads.

The Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office told Skhemy that the charges against Mr Yefremov are still active, but he has not been put on the wanted list. A source told the journalists that no court hearings have been scheduled in the case, "which is probably due to the temporary occupation of Starobilsk," where Mr Yefremov had been detained.

The ex-MP himself refused to talk to Skhemy.