The collegium of the Appellate Chamber of the Higher Anti-Corruption Court (VACS) rejected the appeal of the defense of the former head of PrivatBank, Oleksandr Dubilet, against the court's decision to arrest him. During the meeting held on Monday, the judges confirmed the legality of the decision of October 16 to detain the suspect.
During the announcement of the decision, the presiding judge noted that "the appeal of Dubilet's defense attorney Oleksandr Valeriyovych will be dismissed, and the decision of the Investigative Judge of the State Criminal Court dated October 16, 2024 will be left unchanged." This means that the arrest of the ex-banker remains valid, despite the defense's attempt to appeal the decision.
Back in October 2023, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) announced the search for Oleksandr Dubilet. The former chairman of the board of PrivatBank is suspected of involvement in a large-scale financial fraud that caused significant losses to the state.
The investigation in criminal proceedings No. 12017040000000531 has been ongoing since 2017. A duplicate ticket is charged with committing crimes under the following articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
- h 5th century 191 (appropriation or waste of property in particularly large amounts),
- h 3 Art. 28 (commitment of a crime by an organized group),
- h 1 Art. 366 (official forgery).
Back in October 2021, the High Anti-Corruption Court granted permission for an absentee investigation into Dubilet due to his absence in Ukraine and evasion of the investigation. Given the lengthy nature of the case and the seriousness of the charges, law enforcement officers insist on keeping the suspect in custody to prevent his possible evasion of justice.
Currently, the court's decision means that Oleksandr Dubilet will remain under arrest. The suspect's defense has the right to appeal to other court authorities, but there are few chances for the case to be reviewed, since the arrest was already confirmed at the appellate level.
