Wife of former Ukrainian MP arrested with £22m in cash at refugee camp

She was stopped with suitcases full of cash

The wife of a former Ukrainian MP, Igor Kovitsky, was stopped during a customs check on the Hungarian border and allegedly found to be carrying approximately £22m in cash. As per the Times and other outlets, it is believed that Anastasia Kovitska arrived at a refugee camp in Vylok - an administrative region in western Ukraine that borders Hungary - when she was stopped by the authorities. According to local outlets, border guards allegedly found several suitcases stuffed with cash that Kovitska failed to declare and the Ukrainian politician's wife, along with Kovitsky, are now the subject of a criminal probe. https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1505635994627981313?s=20&t=RIlLSrtk6-jyI7geiqH83w The 52-year-old politician and former People's Deputy, once thought to be Ukraine's wealthiest MP, claimed his partner was leaving the country to give birth in safety amid the Russian invasion and denied reports that she was carrying an estimated $28m and 1.3m in euros across the border. Kovitsky insisted that "all my money is in Ukrainian banks, I did not take anything out" in a Facebook post, before shortly deleting the account entirely. Even his daughter took to social media to label the claims as "fake and rumours". However, after travelling to the checkpoint with two Hungarian men and their mother, Kovitska's cargo was ultimately discovered and she was forced to declare the large sums as she attempted to smuggle them into EU territory. The Times claim that Kovitsky is thought to control Ukraine's nuclear energy systems and a large portion of the uranium deposits in the country, as well as having close commercial and political links to former Interior Minister, Arsen Avakov. Border authorities are now being asked to be extra vigilant as there are concerns that guards in the Transcarpathian region are allegedly being bribed to allow for cash to be smuggled out of the country, with those involved reportedly taking anywhere "3 and 7.5 per cent" depending on the individual and total amount, according to the Daily Star.

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