An attempt to avoid investigation? The case of the NBU's chief lawyer was transferred from the SBI to the police
Kyiv • UNN
The criminal proceedings against Oleksandr Zyma were transferred from the SBI to the police. Concorde's shareholders and experts see this as an attempt to delay the investigation and avoid responsibility.
The Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office has transferred the criminal proceedings over possible abuse of office by Oleksandr Zyma, director of the legal department of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), from the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) to the police department in Kyiv's Pechersk district. This event caused concern among the shareholders of Concord Bank, whose representatives openly criticize this change of jurisdiction, seeing it as an attempt to delay the investigation of the case, UNN reports .
The criminal proceedings against Oleksandr Zyma were opened by the State Bureau of Investigation due to his letter with recommendations to the Deposit Guarantee Fund (DGF) to withdraw the lawsuits filed by Concord Bank against the National Bank. In the lawsuits, Concorde demanded the cancellation of fines totaling almost UAH 63.5 million. The bank went to court before the regulator decided to revoke Concord's license and liquidate it.
Yulia Sosiedka, co-owner of Concord Bank, has been fighting for a long time to have her status as a victim recognized in this case. However, the court decision of April 2024, which obliges SBI investigators to recognize her as a victim, has not yet been enforced. For more than 4 months, the investigators have not handed her a memo on the rights of the victim.
Moreover, UNN learned from its own sources that the court, on the eve of the transfer of the case from the SBI to the police, ordered the investigators of the State Bureau of Investigation to consider the petition of Yulia Sosedka's representatives within 72 hours and recognize her as a victim in the case.
Probably, the SBI realized that Concorde shareholders would continue to fight for their rights and would not back down. Therefore, immediately after the new court ruling, the jurisdiction in the case against Zyma was changed.
Yulia Sosiedka strongly condemned the transfer of the case to the police, considering it another attempt to delay the process.
For more than 4 months , the SBI has been ignoring the court decision and not recognizing me as a victim, violating my constitutional rights. Now they have found a new way. Instead of complying with the Constitution, the SBI has sent the case to the National Police,
In her opinion, this indicates that they are trying to "bury" the case using administrative resources.
This behavior of the investigating body indicates that someone is using administrative resources to block the consideration of the case on the merits. This undermines the fairness of the process and impedes the protection of my legal rights, which raises serious doubts about the objectivity and impartiality of the investigation,
She also stated that Concorde's shareholders will continue to fight for justice, even if it means going to court to ensure an objective investigation.
Legal experts interviewed by UNN indicate that Yulia Sosedka's concerns are not unfounded. In particular, lawyer Serhiy Lysenko expressed the opinion that the transfer of the case from the SBI to the police is a classic way to "bury" the case. He emphasized the need to complain to the leadership of the prosecutor's office to avoid its closure.
Dumping the case to the district police department is a direct way to hide and bury the case. And, unfortunately, in most cases they succeed,
Kasyanenko & Partners' attorney Dmytro Kasyanenko also shares this opinion, emphasizing that criminal proceedings concerning abuse of power by officials should be investigated by the SBI, not the police.
The transfer of the case to the police for investigation indicates attempts to delay and political influence,
In his opinion, such actions may increase the investigation timeframe, as the new investigative body has to familiarize itself with the case and conduct an analysis, which delays the process. He also drew attention to possible bureaucratic obstacles and political influence that could be the cause of delays.
Security expert Serhiy Shabovta does not rule out the possibility that Oleksandr Zyma may use influence to delay the investigation of the case against him or close the criminal proceedings. In particular, he believesthat the chief lawyer of the National Bank has influential patrons and is close to NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyi. This, according to the expert, explains his confidence in impunity.
We cannot rule out the possibility that the prosecutor's office will decide to change the jurisdiction of the case against Oleksandr Zyma, because he is not an official of category A, which is under the jurisdiction of the SBI.
In this case, it is possible that his position does not fall into category "A", or the type of crime may be under the jurisdiction of other authorities,
In addition, according to him, investigators during the investigation could establish that, for example, the intent was not the director of the legal department, but one of the employees. However, in this case, it still remains unclear why the investigators are so stubbornly refusing to recognize Yulia Sosedka as a victim, since it is obvious that Zyma tried to violate her constitutional right to a fair trial with his letter .
