More bad news for Giuliani - Federal prosecutors interview Ukraine oil and gas company CEO
2:50 PM ET, Wed December 4, 2019
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/04/politics/naftogaz-ceo-prosecutors-interview/index.html
Federal prosecutors in New York who are investigating Rudy Giuliani and his associates have deepened their focus on Ukraine's state-run oil-and-gas company, having interviewed its CEO, Andriy Kobolyev, and seeking in recent weeks to speak to a key US embassy staffer in Ukraine, according to Kobolyev's attorney and people familiar with the matter. Prosecutors have interviewed Kobolyev, the head of Naftogaz, which stands at the center of an attempted scheme by Giuliani associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman to replace Kobolyev with someone who could be more favorable to their own business interests.
"The Department of Justice requested an interview with Andriy Kobolyev," his attorney, Lanny Breuer, said. "He agreed and has voluntarily talked with the government attorneys. At this time, it would not be appropriate to comment further."
Kobolyev has said he would be willing to talk to prosecutors about all three men. "Everything is connected," he told Time last month.Prosecutors have also made contact recently with the US embassy official, Suriya Jayanti, a foreign service officer based in Kiev. Jayanti handles Naftogaz issues at the embassy and has communicated with the company's management, according to an American energy consultant who operates in Ukraine, Dale Perry.
Prosecutors' interest in the activity surrounding Naftogaz indicates a possible expansion of their case against Parnas and Fruman, who have been indicted for an alleged scheme to funnel foreign money into US elections, and demonstrates they are looking closely at possible crimes related to foreign bribery. And it comes as prosecutors probe Giuliani's business interests.
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