The High Anti-Corruption Court dismissed the case against MP Dubnevych due to the prolonged investigation
The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has ruled to close the criminal case against eight individuals, with Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Dubnevych as the key suspect. The case, which involved causing multimillion-dollar losses to JSC Ukrzaliznytsia, was closed due to the expiration of the pre-trial investigation period following the notification of suspicion.
This was reported by the court’s press service.
The court granted the defense’s motion based on paragraph 10 of part 1 of Article 284 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine (the so-called “Lozovoy amendments”). This provision provides for the closure of proceedings if the pre-trial investigation deadlines specified in Article 219 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine have expired after the suspects were notified of the charges.
In addition to the MP, seven other individuals were charged in this case, including:
The former first deputy head of the “Production Support Center” branch of JSC “Ukrzaliznytsia”;
The Chairman of the Board of PJSC “Dnipropetrovsk Switch Plant” and other officials and executives of private companies.
According to the investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), a group of Ukrzaliznytsia officials, in collusion with Yaroslav Dubnevych, organized a corruption scheme during the procurement of switch products. Investigators claimed that between 2015 and 2017, the state-owned enterprise artificially overpaid more than 93 million hryvnias for the supply of goods. The MP was charged in connection with this case in October 2019 after his parliamentary immunity was lifted.
The court’s decision to close the case is not final—the High Anti-Corruption Court’s ruling may be appealed by the prosecution to the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court within seven days of its official announcement.
In February 2022, based on materials from the NABU pre-trial investigation, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment with the court charging nine individuals, including MP Yaroslav Dubnevych. The MP and eight other defendants are suspected of illegally embezzling over 93 million hryvnias from PJSC Ukrzaliznytsia. The MP posted bail but did not appear in court. It later emerged that on October 8, Dubnevych crossed the border into Romania. On November 2, 2023, a panel of judges at the High Anti-Corruption Court granted the SAPO prosecutor’s motion to place him on the international wanted list.
Additionally, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) have completedtheir investigation into the case of Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Dubnevych, who is suspected of organizing the embezzlement of natural gas worth 2.1 billion hryvnias and the laundering of illegally obtained profits.
