HACC refuses to remove Chernyshov from dpty PM post
The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has rejected the request of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) to remove from office Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Unity Oleksiy Chernyshov, who is suspected of abuse of office and receiving an illegal benefit on an especially large scale.
As an Interfax-Ukraine agency correspondent reported, the HACC made the corresponding decision at a meeting on Wednesday, refusing to satisfy the prosecution's motion.
On Tuesday, July 1, the court began considering the motion of NABU and SAPO to remove Chernyshov from his post. In particular, the prosecution asked the HACC to remove Chernyshov from his post for two months. At the same time, the defense asked to completely deny this motion. In particular, the defense referred to a letter from Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, in which he stated that Chernyshov's removal from office would negatively affect the work of the government and the Ministry of National Unity. At the same time, the judge reprimanded the defense for putting pressure on him because of the aforementioned letter from the prime minister. After hearing the parties, the judge announced that the decision would be announced the next day and retired to the deliberation room.
Earlier, on June 27, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) chose a preventive measure for Chernyshov in the form of a bail of UAH 120 million, partially satisfying the motion, in particular, refusing to wear an electronic monitoring device (bracelet). By court decision, the suspect is assigned the following duties: to appear at every call of a detective, prosecutor or court, to report a change in his place of residence and place of work, not to leave the territory of Ukraine without the permission of the investigator, prosecutor or court. The term of the duties assigned to Chernyshov is 2 months, that is, until August 27, 2025.
During the meeting on the selection of a preventive measure, Chernyshov stated that he does not plan to flee anywhere and will cooperate with the investigation. He later said he had no plans to resign on his own.
On July 1, Chernyshov's lawyers announced that they had already filed an appeal against the court's decision to choose a preventive measure in the form of a bail in the amount of UAH 120 million.
As reported, on June 23, Chernyshov is suspected of abuse of office and obtaining illegal benefits in an especially large amount for himself and third parties to Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of National Unity of Ukraine Oleksiy Chernyshov. In particular, his actions in his former position as Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine are qualified under Part 2 of Article 15, Part 2 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 364, and Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
According to the investigation, the developer and his proxy developed a scheme for the illegal acquisition of a land plot in Kyiv for the construction of a residential complex, and Chernyshov was involved in the implementation of the scheme when he held the position of minister, his advisor, the then state secretary of the ministry, and the director of the state enterprise. Law enforcement officers believe that the minister created the conditions for the transfer of the land plot to the management of the specified state enterprise, the state secretary granted permission to make a significant economic commitment, and the director of the state enterprise illegally concluded investment agreements with the "necessary" construction company. According to them, the developer was to give the state a part of the future apartments in an amount proportional to the cost of the land plot. To minimize this amount, the land and the buildings on it were valued almost five times cheaper, and the difference between this valuation and the market value exceeded UAH 1 billion. This is the amount by which the state would have received less real estate if the contracts had been executed. This was prevented by the seizure of the plot, which was imposed at the request of the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.
Earlier, five people were reported about the suspicion, including: the former State Secretary of the Ministry of Regional Development; the former advisor to the minister; the former director of a state-owned enterprise; the developer and his trusted person (organizers of the scheme).
On June 17, the former State Secretary of the Ministry of Regional Development was taken into custody with the alternative of a bail of UAH 20 million.