Serhiy Bubka prepares to sue Bihus.Info over an investigation into his family business
The ex-president of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine, Serhiy Bubka, is preparing to sue Bihus.Info over their July investigation into his alleged family business in Ukraine's occupied territories.
This was reported by the President of the National Olympic Committee, Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, Vadym Gutzeit, Suspilne reports.
"I have spoken with Bubka. He said that he was preparing to take the matter to court – he will defend his honor. This is what I can tell you," he said.
Gutzeit also said that the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine would reconsider Serhiy Bubka's status after the journalistic investigation.
Bubka remains a member of the NOC executive committee after resigning as president. His status in the organization will be further reviewed by the NOC ethics committee.
"There are two aspects to this issue. There is the crime aspect – this is for the police to deal with. We will wait and see how they will work on this issue. Regarding the NOC, it is an ethics question, I have already tasked the ethics commission to consider it. Maybe to contact the IOC ethics commission and figure out what to do," Gutzeit said.
As Suspilne reminds, Serhiy Bubka remained the NOC president until 2022, Gutzait being elected later. Following the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, the 1998 Olympics champion left Ukraine "as a refugee."
However, Bubka explained, his family remained in occupied Donetsk. "He can't leave," said the official about his older brother Vasyl, who also used to be a pole vaulter in the past and has won prizes at the World and European Championships.
In July, Bihus.info journalists made public the contracts of the Bubkas' fuel trading business, "Monblan", regarding the fuel sales to state agencies in the Russian Federation and the so-called "DPR".
Serhiy Bubka first became the president of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine in 2005, replacing Viktor Yanukovych. Since 1999, Bubka has been a member of the International Olympic Committee. He is senior vice president of World Athletics, the leading global organization for athletics.
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