Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged members of parliament's Finance Committee to take a polygraph test in the wake of bribery allegations.
Zelenskiy, who is currently in Japan, said in a post on Facebook on October 23 that the allegations were "an attempt to discredit" his ruling Servant of the People party.
"I will not allow anyone from the [party's] representation [in parliament] or from outside to cast a shadow on the political force that obtained a majority mandate from the Ukrainian people," Zelenskiy wrote, calling on all members of the parliamentary Committee for Finances, Taxation and Customs Policies to take a polygraph test.
"If that test reveals even the slightest possibility that any of the lawmakers took bribes for their votes in the committee, then anti-corruption agencies must deal with them. Honest and unbiased investigation must remove all of the questions and give answers, no matter how bitter they may be," Zelenskiy wrote.
Ukrainian media reports from earlier in the day said that 11 Verkhovna Rada lawmakers from Zelenskiy's party had accepted up to $30,000 each in undue benefits for voting against a bill to eliminate corruption schemes to allegedly benefit property companies linked to another lawmaker.
Ukraine's Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced on October 23 that it was investigating the reports.
Zelenskiy, who won the presidential election in April, has vowed to fight endemic corruption in the country.
