Former UAF president Pavelka has been detained in Slovakia: extradition proceedings are underway
This has been reported by the Prosecutor General, Ruslan Kravchenko. The Prosecutor General himself did not name the detainee, but the media claim that the individual in question is Andriy Pavelko.
According to Kravchenko, the former senior official of the Ukrainian Football Federation was detained in Bratislava following an international arrest warrant and cooperation between Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and the relevant Slovak authorities.
The Office of the Prosecutor General has already sent a letter to the Slovak authorities stating its intention to submit a request for the detainee’s extradition. Ukraine is also requesting that he be placed in pre-trial detention whilst the documents are being prepared.
Consequently, no final decision has yet been made regarding Pavelko’s extradition. The extradition request has yet to be formalised, after which it will be considered by the Slovak authorities.
According to the investigation, the former head of Ukrainian football organised the siphoning off of nearly 295 million hryvnias from the Ukrainian Football Federation through commercial entities under his control.
Law enforcement officials claim that fictitious contracts for the supply of seafood, premium teas, coffee and electrical equipment were drawn up to facilitate the transfer of funds. According to the investigation, the goods existed only on paper, whilst the Federation and its regional branches suffered losses running into millions.
Andriy Pavelko was elected president of the Ukrainian Football Federation in March 2015. He headed the organisation, which was later renamed the Ukrainian Football Association, until Andriy Shevchenko was elected as the new president of the UAF on 25 January 2024.
The circumstances outlined by the law enforcement agencies represent the investigation’s version of events. Pavelo’s guilt can only be established by a court through a conviction.
Follow us on Telegram.
