The court extended Mykola Solsky's detention and reduced his bail to ₴49 million
The court extended the pretrial detention of Mykola Solskyi—who headed Ukraine’s Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food from 2022 to 2024—until September 27. At the same time, for the first time in six months, the court significantly reduced the bail amount set for him—from 63.7 million to 49.92 million hryvnias.
The new bail amount for Mykola Solsky is 49.92 million hryvnias. If he posts bail, the suspect must comply with a number of procedural obligations imposed by the court.
Specifically, he must:
- appear upon the first summons before the prosecutor, investigator, investigating judge, or court;
- not leave the locality where he resides without the appropriate permission;
- report any change of residence or employment;
- refrain from communicating with witnesses in the proceedings;
- deposit his foreign passports with the relevant government agencies for safekeeping.
In court, the prosecutor and investigator noted that the criminal proceedings involving Solsky require a significant amount of investigative and procedural work.
In particular, law enforcement officials plan to analyze information from banking institutions regarding the flow of funds at Volytsia-Agro LLC following the alleged fraudulent acts.
The investigation must also incorporate the findings of a forensic economic examination and obtain a report from the State Audit Service of Ukraine based on the results of an audit of the contractual relationship between Podillya Agroproduct and Volytsia-Agro LLC.
The court ruling states:
“At this stage of the criminal proceedings, there is a reasonable likelihood that, if released, the suspect may coordinate his position with other parties involved in the proceedings, influence the course of the pretrial investigation, or otherwise obstruct the establishment of the truth in the case. Only a pretrial detention measure in the form of custody can ensure the suspect’s proper conduct during the proceedings.”
At the same time, this concerns a suspicion, not a court-established finding of guilt against Mykola Solskyi.
The court also extended the preventive measures for two other individuals involved in the proceedings.
In particular, Oleksandr Prokopets, director of Volytsia-Agro LLC, remains under nighttime house arrest.
The court extended the detention of the technical director of Volytsia-Agro LLC, with the option to post bail in the amount of 832,000 UAH.
Thus, Mykola Solskyi will remain in custody at least until September 27; however, if he posts bail in the amount of 49.92 million UAH, he will be able to be released from custody and fulfill the procedural obligations set by the court.
This is stated in the court’s ruling.
Earlier, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) referred to court the case involving a group led by former Minister of Agrarian Policy Mykola Solskyi.
The Khmelnytskyi City and District Court extended the pretrial detention order for former Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Mykola Solskyi until July 10.
