The High Anti-Corruption Court ruled to release former Minister of Infrastructure Andriy Pyvovarsky from criminal liability due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. He was accused of abuse of power and official position, which caused the state more than $49 million in damages. UNN reports this with reference to the HACC.
On Wednesday, October 15, the High Anti-Corruption Court granted the petition of the defense counsel of the former Minister of Infrastructure and ruled to release the accused from criminal liability on the basis of Article 49 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. The criminal proceedings regarding the accusation of the ex-Minister of Infrastructure of committing a criminal offense provided for in Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine were closed on the basis of paragraph 1 of Part 2 of Article 284 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.
The Anti-Corruption Court also lifted the arrests imposed on the property of the ex-Minister of Infrastructure.
The court notes that the events of this case took place in 2015, the investigation began in 2016, and the indictment was submitted to the High Anti-Corruption Court on July 25, 2024. The case volume is 80 volumes.
The full text of the ruling with the justification of the said decision is scheduled to be announced on October 17. The text will be available in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions.
The ruling may be appealed to the Appeals Chamber of the HACC within 7 days from the date of its announcement.
Andriy Pyvovarsky confirmed on his Facebook page that the High Anti-Corruption Court closed his case due to the statute of limitations.
"The arrests on the property have been lifted. I will come to my senses and write more details," he wrote.
Addition
In 2023, the former Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Andriy Pyvovarsky and his former first deputy were notified of suspicion of abuse of power and official position.
According to the investigation, in July 2015, the then minister, together with his first deputy (at that time also the head of the Tariff Council of the Ministry of Infrastructure), ensured the adoption of an order according to which ship fees from vessels in the Pivdennyi seaport, together with the SE "AMPU", began to be collected by private companies (in a 50:50 proportion). Whereas, according to the law, the collection of such a fee is the exclusive prerogative of the state enterprise as the user of the port's water area, which belongs to the state.
NABU claimed that as a result of the order, the state enterprise suffered losses of more than $49 million during 2015-2023. The actions of the former officials were qualified under Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.