Entrepreneur Wins 600,000 UAH in Compensation for 5 Years Under Investigation
The Sumy Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s decision to order the state to pay 600,000 hryvnias to the entrepreneur for emotional distress caused by prolonged and unfounded criminal prosecution. In addition, the acquitted citizen will be fully reimbursed for the costs of professional legal assistance in the amount of 100,000 hryvnias.
The case began back in 2017 during major repairs to the soft roofing on the roof of one of Sumy’s hospitals. A tragic accident occurred at that time: an employee hired by the entrepreneur fell from a height and died from his injuries.
Following this, law enforcement officials notified the individual entrepreneur that he was suspected of violating Part 2 of Article 272 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which provides for liability for violating safety rules during the performance of high-risk work, resulting in the death of a person. The indictment was sent to court; however, in September 2020, the Zarichny District Court of Sumy fully acquitted the man on the grounds that his actions did not constitute a criminal offense.
The prosecutor’s office attempted to appeal this decision, but in October 2023, the Sumy Court of Appeals upheld the acquittal. In total, the man was under investigation and on trial for more than five years, which significantly affected his business reputation and caused considerable emotional distress.
In the fall of 2024, the acquitted businessman filed a lawsuit against the State of Ukraine, represented by the Sumy Regional Prosecutor’s Office and the State Treasury Service of Ukraine, seeking compensation for the damages incurred. The district court fully granted the plaintiff’s claims. The regional prosecutor’s office filed an appeal, seeking to reduce the amount of moral damages to 99,200 hryvnias and to deny payment for attorney’s fees. However, a panel of judges at the appellate court rejected the prosecutors’ appeal, noting that the awarded amount of 600,000 hryvnias fully complies with the principles of reasonableness, proportionality, and fairness, given the duration of the unlawful persecution.
This was reported by sud.ua.
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