Court Twice Refuses To Arrest Property And Accounts Of Naftogaz Ex-Head Kobolev

The court has already twice refused to arrest the property and accounts of the former chairman of the board of the Naftogaz of Ukraine National Joint Stock Company Andrii Kobolev.

This is stated in the court materials, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office twice appealed to the court to seize Kobolev's property and bank accounts, but the court refused to satisfy their request.

On February 2, the High Anti-Corruption Court for the first time refused to arrest accounts.

The investigative judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court Oleh Fedorov refused to arrest, reasoning that the suspicion is unfounded, and therefore there are no grounds for arresting funds as a guarantee of possible future confiscation of property.

The High Anti-Corruption Court appellate chamber canceled the ruling, since, according to the judges, the suspicion is justified, and the punishment under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code, which Kobolev is charged with, provides for confiscation of property.

However, the High Anti-Corruption Court’s Appeals Chamber also refused to arrest the accounts, since the only evidence of the belonging of these accounts to Kobolev was a detective's report, which, according to the court, is not enough.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office notes that the bank accounts of the former chairman of the board of NJSC Naftogaz of Ukraine Andrii Kobolev are not currently under arrest.