The Supreme Anti-Corruption Court has decided not to extend the duties assigned to the former Chairman of the Board of Naftogaz of Ukraine Andriy Kobolev, who is suspected of illegally receiving a bonus of UAH 229 million. The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) reported this.
“Due to the fact that the term of office of the former Chairman of the Board of Naftogaz of Ukraine expired on 12.11.2024, the prosecutor of the SAPO on 01.11.2024 applied to the court with a motion to extend it. However, the subsequent court sessions at which the court was to consider the said motion, namely on 05.11.2024 and 08.11.2024, were not held at the court's initiative. Instead, on 01.11.2024, the presiding judge granted permission to the said accused to travel abroad from 04.11.2024 to 25.11.2024,” the SAPO informed UNN .
The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, as noted, on November 8, 2024 and November 11, 2024 sent letters to the Supreme Court of Ukraine with a request to consider the petition for the extension of the preventive measure until its expiration.
"However, an additional hearing was never scheduled. As a result, the term of the duties assigned to the accused expired," the SAPO noted.
The department noted that the accused was assigned the following obligations until November 12, 2024: to notify the court of a change in his place of residence; to refrain from communicating with witnesses; to deposit his passport(s) for travel abroad with the State Migration Service of Ukraine.
"Today, the accused has a preventive measure only in the form of bail in the amount of UAH 107 million. The issue of applying to the court with a motion to re-impose procedural obligations on the accused is currently being resolved," the SAPO indicated.
On January 19, 2023, the former Chairman of the Board of Naftogaz of Ukraine, Andriy Kobolev, was informed of suspicion of abusing his official position by securing the payment of bonuses exceeding the maximum allowable by more than 229 million hryvnias.
In September last year, the Supreme Court of Ukraine reduced the bail amount for Andriy Kobolev from 229.25 million hryvnias to 107.12 million hryvnias.
