According to investigators, Tatarov, who was practicing law at that time, traveled to Moscow via Minsk (Belarus): three times in 2017 and four times in 2018. He may have also flown to Moscow from the Qatari capital Doha twice in 2019. Most recently, he likely traveled to Russia the day after Volodymyr Zelensky's victory in the presidential elections on April 21, 2019.
Additionally, investigators claim that Tatarov visited Belarus in March 2013, twice in June and November 2014, and once more in March 2016.
Specifically, on March 22, 2016, he crossed the border into Belarus through the "Nova Huta" checkpoint in his own vehicle and returned to Ukraine the following day via the same route. However, it remains unclear whether Tatarov visited the aggressor state during these trips.
Moreover, the Deputy Head of the Office of the President traveled to occupied Crimea, as reported by "Schemes." According to investigators, on June 6, Tatarov crossed the "Dzhankoy" checkpoint and returned on June 8 through the "Armeniansk" checkpoint. Journalists noted that for these trips, he used a car owned at that time by an employee of a company that was then owned by the lawyer Vasyl Farinnyk's wife, Halyna.
In 2008, Farinnyk was the head of the Main Investigative Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and served as Deputy Minister. As mentioned in the material, he brought Tatarov to work in the Main Investigative Department and later made him a partner in the law firm, which was named "Tatarov, Farinnyk, Holovko" after Tatarov joined.
At the time of the publication, Tatarov had not commented on this issue to the journalists of "Schemes." However, after the disclosure, he denied this information and any contact with representatives of Russia in comments to BBC.
"I usually do not comment on any publications regarding myself. However, due to the war that Russia is waging against our country, I find it necessary to comment on this fake news that was spread today. It is absolutely unacceptable to disseminate false information and even insinuations of my supposed communication with anyone from Russia or trips to its territory. Especially when referencing sources controlled by the enemy," he stated.