However, for some reason, NABU decided not to check the judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court for involvement in bribery in this criminal proceeding, writes SYUG.
As you know, during the reforms in Ukraine, a wide anti-corruption infrastructure was created, financed from the budget: the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court. However, all these bodies turn out to be helpless when it comes to conducting an “internal” check in case of a suspected act of corruption within this infrastructure itself.
Thus, one of the defendants in the case of the former Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mykola Zlochevsky, the ex-first deputy head of the Main Department of the State Tax Service in Kyiv, Mykola Ilyashenko, announced corruption in the High Anti-Corruption Court. At the same time, as follows from the petition of the lawyer of the Supreme Court, who was at the disposal of the Judicial-Yuristic Newspaper, the NABU created technical obstacles in objective verification and establishing the truth by retraining in proceedings that concern judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court.
As follows from the aforementioned petition of the lawyer in the Supreme Court, Nikolai Ilyashenko turned in October 2022 to acting. about. Director of NABU Gizo Uglava with a statement in which he said that through an intermediary he was demanded to transfer an unlawful benefit in the amount of 50 thousand US dollars to certain persons, including a man who introduced himself as an assistant judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court named Alexander, for the decision of the collegium Judges of the Supreme Court of Justice on the allocation of materials against him to a separate criminal proceeding and the decision on the issue of exemption from liability. Subsequently, according to him, he had to transfer another 50 thousand US dollars.
As the lawyer described the circumstances of the case, in 2020 this intermediary informed Ilyashenko that he had an acquaintance with the VAKS judge. After the conversation, the acquaintance said that $1,500,000 was needed to resolve the situation.
In early March 2021, Ilyashenko transferred $150,000 to an intermediary, the latter later said that he had transferred the funds and added that $900,000 still needed to be transferred USA.
Yevgeny Kruk from VAKS took bribes
“At the time of the transfer of the other part of the money, Ilyashenko knew that his acquaintance would resolve his issues through the deputy chairman of the VAKS court, Evgeny Kruk.</p
Subsequently, during a meeting between Mykola Ilyashenko and the mediator, the latter said that Judge VAKS Viktor Maslov, the presiding judge in criminal proceedings against Ilyashenko, requires a shortage of funds up to UAH 1,200,000, and only after receiving the entire amount, Judge Maslov will make a decision .
In the early autumn of 2021, an acquaintance said that he would arrange a meeting between Ilyashenko and Deputy Chairman of the VAKS Yevgeny Kruk, but a man named Alexander came to the meeting itself, introducing himself as Kruk's assistant judge. During a personal conversation, Alexander informed Ilyashenko that the issue would be resolved and the criminal proceedings against him would be separated into a separate proceeding, in support of which he presented a draft ruling of the VAKS panel of judges.
During the conversation Alexander was in possession of all the information on the case, including that which was not known to the applicant (the testimony of accomplice Elena Mazurova). Alexander said that the board's decision on Ilyashenko would be made immediately after the transfer of funds ($200,000).
Next, Ilyashenko transferred funds in the amount of $200,000”, — noted in the Supreme Court’s petition.
Since the beginning of the pre-trial investigation, NABU detectives and SAPO prosecutors have applied to the investigators for territorial jurisdiction in the Solomensky District Court of Kyiv and the Kyiv Court of Appeal, including to obtain search warrants and to conduct NSRD .
However, on November 11, 2022, as stated in the petition, the NABU detective issued a decision to change qualifications under Part 2 of Art. 28, part 3 of Art. 369-2 of the Criminal Code under Part 4 of Art. 27, part 3 of Art. 369 of the Criminal Code. He motivated his decision by the fact that, based on the results of the investigative actions carried out at that time, “no data have been established” about the relationship of the intermediaries who allegedly transferred Ilyashenko’s funds with the judges of the Supreme Court of Cassation, “however, Ilyashenko’s testimony and other investigative actions indicate that intermediaries and other unidentified individuals throughout 2021-2022 and so far incited him to provide improper benefits to officials for acting on his behalf, in particular to provide improper benefits in the amount of $ 100,000, part of which was incited to provide the prosecutor Prosecutor's Office.
That is, the NABU decided not to check the involvement of VAKS judges and VAKS employees in the circumstances and events of criminal offenses in this proceeding by changing qualifications, instead deciding to check the “predecessors” – SAPO prosecutors.
November 12, 2022 to intermediaries in the transfer of funds reports of suspicion were handed in, part 4 of Art. 27, part 3 of Art. 369, part 4 of Art. 190, part 3 of Art. 15, part 4 of Art. 190, part 3 of Art. 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and part 4 of Art. 27, part 3 of Art. 369, part 3 of Art. 15, part 4 of Art. 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, respectively.
Reports of suspicion were substantiated, including by the testimony of Nikolai Ilyashenko. “The message of suspicion contains a direct and/or indirect relation to the judges of the VAKS, similar references are contained in the petition for the application of a measure of restraint. The annexes to the petition, the evidence of the materials of the criminal proceedings contain enough information about the need to verify the involvement of the judges of the VAKS in criminal offenses in this proceedings.
Such facts make it impossible to consider any procedural documents in this criminal proceeding, at least until the completion of the pre-trial investigation in this proceeding and until the final establishment of the absence of any involvement of judges and employees of the VAKS in illegal actions.
It is necessary take into account the fact that the applicant names both the specific judges of the VAKS Evgeny Kruk and Viktor Maslov, as well as persons whose details have not been established. It has also not been established which of the judges Alexander works as an assistant,” the petition to the Supreme Court says.
Consequently, the detectives did not even try to establish where Alexander had the content of the draft decisions of the VAKS and testimony, expanding the circle of persons regarding which it is necessary to check information to all judges of the VAKS and employees of the VAKS.
“Accordingly, all judges VAKS and assistant judges of VAKS must acquire the status of at least witnesses, which also excludes their participation in court proceedings in this proceeding”, & # 8212; the petition says.
Of course, it is nonsense when procedural leaders, judges, etc. are the same persons in respect of whom there is suspicion, although not declared, of taking bribes. Especially when such so-called “suspects” are the judges of the exemplary again anticorsud, who must not only allow some kind of understatement, but also publicly and in advance prevent all doubts about their impartiality.
In addition, it is impossible to establish the truth when these persons actually check themselves for corruption and create formal obstacles to carry out this check objectively.
Apparently, the so-called anti-corruption infrastructure represented by NABU, SAPO and the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court are not interested in disclosing information about themselves on such corruption charges, and those who should be interested in establishing confidence in the judiciary do not even try to find a way out in order to act in accordance with international anti-corruption standards.
We expect comments from all the people involved in this material.
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