Aleksandr Onishchenko granted Macedonian citizenship
Former MP Oleksandr Onishchenko has been granted citizenship of Northern Macedonia, writes Bagnet.
According to Balkan Insight, the decision to grant citizenship to Onishchenko, who is under US sanctions and appears in a corruption investigation in Ukraine and is on an international wanted list, was made back in late May 2022 at a government meeting in northern Macedonia.
The minutes of the government meeting, which were published later, state that Onishchenko’s citizenship was granted in view of the “positive opinion of the Agency for Youth and Sports” of Northern Macedonia.
In addition to the agency, the opinion on Onishchenko was provided by three other authorities: the Equestrian Federation, the North Macedonian Olympic Committee and the National Security Agency.
The latter, as follows from the documents, prepared the conclusion for more than a year (Onishchenko filed documents back in 2020) and did not find anything in the biography of the former Ukrainian MP, which could prevent him from obtaining North Macedonian citizenship.
The initiative to grant citizenship to Onishchenko came from the Equestrian Federation, its president Risto Josifovski confirmed. Its conclusion states that the man “will support the development of equestrian sport”, has experience as a trainer and will represent “our country at leading international sporting events”.
Five months after obtaining his North Macedonian citizenship, Onishchenko has already competed under the North Macedonian flag at the equestrian jumping competition in Saint-Tropez, France. On Instagram, he posts photos with celebrities – from Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadalado to actresses Eva Longoria and Paris Hilton.
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