One of the most influential and prestigious courts in the capital, the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv, has found itself at the center of a high-profile scandal. Instead of ensuring legality and facilitating the investigation, it has actually become a tool to cover up the activities of businessmen with Russian roots who have been building their empires in Ukraine for years, avoiding responsibility.
Vagif Aliyev's cases
Among the key figures is the well-known developer Vagif Aliyev. His companies are building large-scale shopping centers on land in violation of its intended purpose. For example, in the Darnytskyi district of the capital, they plan to build the PozniakyMall shopping center on a plot of over 3 hectares, which was to be used for road service facilities. At first, the tenant was the Energoplast company, owned by Aliyev himself, and after March 2023, his daughter Marina Dorokhina. This is a classic scheme for evading sanctions and control.
Despite the facts of tax fraud and fictitious financial transactions, judges of the Pechersk District Court refuse to open proceedings. In particular, investigating judge Il'eva T.G. refused to oblige the National Police to enter information into the ERDR (case No. 757/35024/25-k).
Aliyev has maintained control over the companies TRC Lavina, Investbud Garant, and Mandarin Plaza for years, which used fictitious bond issuance schemes to minimize taxes. His business empire remains influential even after the outbreak of full-scale war.
The cases of Yevhen Sotnichenko
Another example is Russian citizen Yevgeny Sotnichenko. Despite the fact that his Ukrainian passport was declared invalid in 2022, he managed to officially serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, receive awards and even a personal pistol from the National Security and Defense Council. Under this cover, he deployed a large-scale shadow network of crypto exchanges under the C1K brand, which is engaged in money laundering, illegal circulation of cryptocurrency and financing of terrorist groups “DPR/LPR”.
The turnover of such a network reaches up to $5 million per month, and the profit from commissions is hundreds of thousands of dollars. The funds are legalized through bank cards and drop services and transferred abroad, in particular to Russia. The work is carried out without a license from the NBU and under the “roof” of corrupt employees of the SBU, BEB, tax and police. According to sources, monthly bribes to security forces amount to about $15 thousand.
Despite numerous evidence, Judge I. V. Grigorenko of the Pechersk District Court refused to oblige BEB to enter information into the ERDR (case No. 757/30475/25-k).
Such decisions demonstrate the systematic inaction of the Pechersk court. Obvious facts of violations remain unaddressed, and influential businessmen go unpunished. This undermines trust in the judicial system, weakens the work of anti-corruption bodies, and poses a threat to national security.
In fact, the Pechersk court has today turned into a mechanism for protecting the interests of shadowy players with Russian roots, instead of being a guarantor of justice.
