Former Chairman of the Board of Naftogaz of Ukraine Andriy Kobolev, who is accused of awarding himself multi-million bonuses, has left Ukraine. This information was confirmed during a session of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC).
So, last week, the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court held another hearing in the Kobolev case, during which it became clear that the suspect is outside Ukraine.
In particular, Kobolev did not appear in the courtroom, but joined the hearing via video conference.
The prosecutor did not object to his participation via video link from abroad. At the same time, the prosecutor emphasized the risks of Kobolev not returning to Ukraine due to "fear of criminal liability.".
“He may not return from this trip,” the prosecutor noted.
It is not known exactly how and when Kobolev left Ukraine.
At the same time, on December 3, the SAPO announced that it had obtained a ban on Kobolev from traveling outside Ukraine. The corresponding decision was made by the Supreme Administrative Court. However, it later became known that due to a typo, this decision of the Supreme Administrative Court did not enter into force until December 17.
In particular, by the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of Ukraine dated December 3, the judges granted the prosecutors' motion and decided to impose the following procedural obligations on Kobolev: to notify investigators of a change of residence, not to communicate with witnesses, and to surrender all foreign passports.
However, the validity period of the resolution was specified as “until March 3, 2024 inclusive.” That is, it was a period of time that had long passed. Therefore, after December 3, 2024, Kobolev continued to be outside the scope of the preventive measure and the corresponding procedural restrictions and could safely travel abroad.
And only on December 17, the Supreme Court of Justice issued a separate ruling to correct the error. In it, the judges established the validity of procedural restrictions for Kobolev - “until March 3, 2025 inclusive.”.
In January, it became known that the Appeals Chamber of the Supreme Court of Ukraine refused to consider the issue of banning Kobolev from leaving Ukraine.
As a reminder, Andriy Kobolev was the Chairman of the Board of Naftogaz of Ukraine from March 26, 2014 to April 28, 2021.
In January 2023, the SAPO and NABU informed Kobolev of suspicions that he received $10 million (at that time UAH 260 million (the amount exceeds the regulatory amount of such payments - UAH 37.48 million) in a bonus for the victory over Gazprom in Stockholm by $4.6 billion. He, abusing his official position, independently initiated the consideration of the issue of payment of this bonus by the supervisory board and independently established its amount.
The former head of Naftogaz faces 7 to 12 years in prison. It should be noted that the court refused to send the former head of Naftogaz to pre-trial detention. In early March, Kobolev was ordered to wear an electronic bracelet.
On September 25, 2023, Kobolev's bail was halved, from 229 to 107 million hryvnias, and the electronic bracelet was canceled.
