Interior Minister names preliminary version of death of Kryvyi Rih mayor

Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Denys Monastyrsky states that the preliminary investigation speaks of the suicide of mayor of Kryvyi Rih Kostiantyn Pavlov, the city's fiscal audit revealed serious abuses. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs told this in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine agency.

"The death of the mayor, like of any official of this level, is always a path to politicization, no matter how much we want to avoid it. Especially at the local level, where the change of elites will take place in this regard", - the MIA head noted.

Answering the question whether pressure is being exerted on the investigation in this case, the minister assured: "I want to say that there is no pressure on the investigation today".

According to him, the police will give information on the causes of Pavlov's death in the near future.

"Preliminary, we can talk about suicide. The factors that became the motive for this suicide should be voiced by the investigation. But there are external factors that have already been established: a number of large-scale inspections and the city's fiscal audit were carried out, and serious abuses were discovered", - Monastyrsky told.

In this context, the minister added: "This is one of those moments when the person who signed the financial documents could be held accountable. The mayor in this case".

As previously reported, mayor of of Kryvyi Rih was found dead on the doorstep of his house on August 15. The National Police of Ukraine opened criminal proceedings under Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (premeditated murder). The investigation is considering three main versions of the incident - murder, suicide and careless handling of weapons. The version of incitement to suicide is not excluded. It is noted that one wound from a Saiga rifle was found on the body of the deceased. The weapon seized at the scene was sent for a comprehensive examination.