Spain declines Ukraine's proposal for a joint investigation into the murder of pro-Russian politician Portnov – according to sources from UP.
Spanish authorities have declined Ukraine's request to form a joint task force with Spanish law enforcement to investigate the murder of Andrii Portnov, a prominent Ukrainian lawyer linked to former president Viktor Yanukovych. Spanish investigators have not ruled out the involvement of Ukrainian security services in Portnov's murder, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda.
Sources close to Ukraine suggest two key motives behind their interest in a joint investigation. One is access to investigative materials, such as Portnov's phones and devices, which may contain sensitive information, particularly from Oleh Tatarov, a senior law enforcement figure in Ukraine. The second is the desire to expedite the investigation and clarify the circumstances surrounding Portnov's killing.
Spanish authorities have also refused to release Portnov's body to Ukraine, with expectations of releasing it early next week, according to Ukrainska Pravda. Portnov was 51 years old when he was shot dead outside the American School in Madrid's Pozuelo de Alarcon suburb, shortly after dropping off his daughters.
Portnov was a former Ukrainian parliament member and deputy head in the administration of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted in 2014. After years in exile and ties to pro-Russian entities, including a TV channel linked to Viktor Medvedchuk, Portnov left Ukraine permanently following the Russian invasion in 2022. In 2018, criminal proceedings were opened against Portnov for treason, but he claimed the case against him was closed in 2019 by the Security Service of Ukraine.
The murder remains under investigation by Spanish authorities. Eyewitnesses describe a targeted, professional attack by unknown assailants who fled the scene. Possible suspects have been linked to organized crime or political motives, but no firm identification of perpetrators has yet been made.
It is worth noting that Andrii Portnov was a controversial figure, with allegations of illegally influencing the dismissal of the head of the Constitutional Court, Stanislav Shevchuk, and blackmailing the Prosecutor General during Iryna Venediktova's term. He also faced sanctions from the US government in 2021.
References:[1] Ukrainska Pravda article: Without trial or investigation. What was Andrii Portnov doing on the eve of his murder?[2] Spanish authorities declined joint Ukraine investigation into Portnov's murder, ref. Reuters[3] Portnov's murder: Eyewitnesses' accounts and police investigation, ref. BBC News[4] No arrests in connection with Portnov's murder, ref. The Guardian[5] A complex web of allegations and connections surrounding Andrii Portnov, ref. The Kyiv Independent.
The government of Ukraine is reportedly interested in a joint investigation with Spanish authorities into the murder of Andrii Portnov, in part to access investigative materials that could shed light on possible involvements of Ukrainian security services and senior law enforcement figures like Oleh Tatarov. With the Spanish authorities refusing to release Portnov's body and the investigation still ongoing, the general news of the unsolved murder continues to stir debate, particularly given Portnov's controversial political history and alleged associations with organized crime and pro-Russian entities. Meanwhile, the realm of politics and crime-and-justice remains intertwined as the investigation proceeds without a breakthrough in identification of the perpetrators.
