The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice has confirmed that they will assist in the legal case to return a 15 Million Euro Guarantee currently held in Switzerland.
Following previous statements that the Ukrainian Government had refused to assist in the return of a 15 Million Euro guarantee, required by the EBU but now the center of a legal dispute in Switzerland. Mr Alasania the Head of the Ukrainian national broadcaster has confirmed that the Ministry of Justice will be assisting the broadcaster in the legal case.
Mr Alasania also added that it may be a significant period of time before the guarantee can be returned to Ukraine. Currently the case has not been allocated to a court in Switzerland and as a result no court date or initial hearing date have been set.
The European Broadcasting Union requested that the Ukrainian Authorities provide a financial guarantee in the event that they were unable to host the competition. The 15 Million Euros requested was held in a Swiss bank account and did not need to be used. It is the first time that the European Broadcasting Union has called for a financial guarantee from a host broadcaster of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Last month it was confirmed that the Ukrainian national broadcaster has hired a Swiss law firm to clarify the circumstances of the dispute. The Director General of the Ukrainian National Broadcaster has made it clear that they want to see the return of the Guarantee.
It has been reported that the source of the dispute is a legal battle between the Ukrainian national broadcaster and Euronews. This however has been denied by the Head of Euronews, the European Broadcasting Union has also confirmed that they did not initiate the seizure.
Source: Detector Media
