The investigation of the criminal proceedings regarding the alleged abuse of power by the director of the legal department of the National Bank of Ukraine, Oleksandr Zima, is obviously on hold. The President of the All-Ukrainian Association of Retired Judges, Denys Neviadomskyi, in an exclusive commentary to UNN noted that the absence of suspicion allows the investigator to keep the case without movement indefinitely.
The case of Winter
At the end of 2023, criminal proceedings were registered under Part 2 of Art. 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (abuse of power or official position, which caused serious consequences). According to UNN, the basis for opening the case was official letter signed by the chief lawyer of the NBU, Oleksandr Zima, who is also the chairman of the Administrative Board of the Deposit Guarantee Fund for Individuals, addressed to the Fund. In the document, the official, on behalf of the National Bank of Ukraine, gave a "recommendation" to the DGF to withdraw from the court lawsuits filed against the NBU by representatives of Concord Bank even before the start of its liquidation process. In the lawsuits, "Concord" challenged fines in the amount of almost 63.5 million hryvnias, imposed by the regulator.
The fund followed the recommendation-instruction, which, according to the co-owner of the bank, Olena Sosiedka, deprived the bank's shareholders of their constitutional right to a fair trial.
After the transfer of the investigation of the criminal proceedings to the Pechersk Police Department in the city of Kyiv, the co-owners of Concord, Olena and Yulia Sosiedok, were recognized as victims. According to lawyers, this means that the investigators recognized that Oleksandr Zima's actions caused real significant damage.
In response to UNN's request, the police reported that during the investigation they plan to interrogate the chief lawyer of the National Bank, after which they will consider the possibility of applying to the court regarding his removal from office.
However, according to sources of UNN, familiar with the course of the investigation, for almost six months no active investigative action is taking place. Since the interrogation of the victims, only a few measures have been taken to obtain documents by the investigators, but the interrogation of witnesses or the potential suspect, not to mention the change of status of Oleksandr Zima, is still absent.
Lack of suspicion - an opportunity to delay
According to the president of the All-Ukrainian Association of Retired Judges, Denys Neviadomskyi, in this case we can talk not just about delay, but about a complete absence of investigation.
"Of course, the case is not being investigated, and the absence of suspicion allows the investigator to keep this case without movement indefinitely, since the procedural terms during the war in cases in which no suspicion has been served are suspended until the end of martial law," the retired judge noted.
According to him, this situation creates a dangerous precedent and opens up space for abuse. In particular, in this way the case can be kept without movement indefinitely.
Neviadomskyi also explained that there are legal mechanisms for responding to the inaction of the investigator, but they differ depending on the interested parties.
If a person is interested in making a final decision and speeding up the investigation, then it is necessary to appeal the inaction of the investigator to the prosecutor and the investigating judge... If there is a victim in the case, then he should appeal the inaction of the investigator to the prosecutor and the investigating judge
It should be noted that the silence of law enforcement officers in high-profile cases involving key officials in financial institutions causes reputational damage to state bodies, undermines confidence in justice and creates a basis for impunity for systemic abuses. In addition, the presence of officials about whom law enforcement agencies have questions regarding abuse of power gives them the opportunity to take measures to avoid punishment as much as possible.