The vast majority of criminal proceedings registered in the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations (ERDR) at the request of investigating judges are closed due to the absence of a criminal offense.
This assessment was given in a comment to Ukrainian News by Denys Ovcharov, head of the business protection practice at the law firm Ader Haber, commenting on the decision of the Pechersk Court to enter information into the ERDR based on a statement by Oksana Kotomkina regarding alleged collaboration by a Swiss supplier of Russian metallic chromium.
"This is a clear example of judicial trolling, which is becoming a scourge for investigators. The Prosecutor General's Office refused to initiate proceedings on this case back in January 2025 for a simple reason: the EU ban on the trade of Russian ferroalloys has only been in effect since December 2024, and there is no such ban in the U.S. at all. Meanwhile, the claimant uncovered this so-called international 'scheme' back in 2022 and accuses firms from Switzerland, India, and Estonia. Now the Pechersk Court has decided that these well-known facts should be re-examined," the lawyer said.
According to him, the sole purpose of this "witch hunt" is to create a media buzz and draw attention to oneself. He also did not rule out that such actions may be driven by competitors trying to damage business reputations.
"Because of such spam, the prosecution is overloaded. Courts are automatically rubber-stamping such decisions. As a result, most criminal proceedings are closed under Article 284 of the Criminal Procedure Code due to the absence of an offense or insufficient evidence," the expert emphasized.
In his view, this situation leaves the public puzzled when an investigating judge from the Pechersk District Court claims there are "legal grounds" to oblige the prosecutor to enter information about a criminal offense into the ERDR.
Ovcharov also pointed out that the person who filed the request with the prosecution published an extract from the ERDR. "This violates the law and may be considered indirect evidence of a targeted attempt to destroy someone's reputation," the lawyer emphasized.
As previously reported, the coordinator of the legal publication Conflicts and Laws, Oksana Kotomkina, stated that based on her complaint, the Prosecutor General's Office initiated an investigation into a "scheme of re-exporting Russian metals, including to the U.S., circumventing sanctions." According to the 12th package of EU sanctions, the ban on the trade of ferroalloys from Russia has been in effect since December 20, 2024.
No such restrictions exist in the U.S
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