On August 26, 2024, the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court will consider the complaint of Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky against the decision of a detective of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) to suspend the pre-trial investigation into the case of the embezzlement of 9.2 billion hryvnias from Privatbank. The corresponding decision to open proceedings was adopted by the court on August 20.
According to the court's decision, the hearing will be held in an open format, allowing the public to observe the progress of the complaint. Not only representatives of Ihor Kolomoiskyi will participate in the hearing, but also NABU detectives who investigated the case.
The NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) previously suspected Kolomoisky of organizing a scheme that involved the illegal appropriation of PrivatBank funds through forged documents and fictitious transactions. According to the investigation, the oligarch, together with other suspects, actually failed to deposit 5.8 billion hryvnias into the bank's cash register, and also appropriated over 5.3 billion hryvnias, which were later legalized through various financial transactions.
Detectives from the Bureau of Economic Security have completed the pre-trial investigation into Kolomoisky himself, but investigations into other suspects in this case are ongoing.
This is not the first time Kolomoisky has been under investigation. The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv recently extended his pretrial detention until September 2, 2024, with the possibility of posting bail of UAH 1.9 billion. In another criminal case, the Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv has chosen a pretrial detention measure for Kolomoisky on suspicion of organizing the contract killing of the director of the Ukrainian-American consulting company Fargo, Serhiy Karpenko. In this case, Kolomoisky is being held without bail until July 7.
The Kolomoisky case has also attracted the attention of international organizations. Experts from the IAC ISHR monitoring mission stated that three articles of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) were violated in the proceedings against the oligarch.
