Court releases former head of Rivne region TCC on bail of over UAH 450 thousand

The Rivne Court of Appeal changed the measure of restraint for the former head of the Rivne Regional TCC Serhiy Lutsiuk from custody to bail in the amount of UAH 454,200. He is suspected of beating his subordinate.

UNN reports with reference to the court.

It is reported that the Rivne Court of Appeal reviewed two appeals filed by Lutsiuk's defense lawyers against the decision of the investigating judge of the local court of July 12, 2024, which extended his preventive measure in the form of detention until September 10.

The defense requested to cancel the appealed decision and apply a non-custodial measure of restraint to the defendant: house arrest at night. One of the defense attorneys supplemented the appeal and requested that the defendant be released on bail in the amount of 80 subsistence minimum incomes for able-bodied persons (UAH 242,000).

It is reported that Lutsiuk also supported the defense's position and pointed to a significant deterioration in his health, and asked to take into account that his eldest son is currently performing tasks in the combat zone, and his younger son is only three years old, to take into account the fact that he had transferred personal funds in the amount of 300 thousand hryvnias for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The prosecutor opposed the appeals and pointed out that the risks provided for in Article 177 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine had not disappeared. The defendant, being at large, will be able to illegally influence witnesses and the victim, obstruct the case, and added that the CPC of Ukraine does not provide for a change of preventive measure to a more lenient one in case of making funds for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He insisted on leaving the appealed decision of the investigating judge of the local court unchanged.

The panel of judges came to the conclusion that the appeals of Sergiy Lutsyuk's defense counsels were partially satisfied. Having overturned the appealed decision of the local investigating judge to extend the preventive measure in the form of detention to the former head of the regional TCC and JV, the appellate court ruled to apply a preventive measure in the form of bail to the accused, however, doubling its amount (150 subsistence minimum incomes for able-bodied persons, which is UAH 454,200)

It is noted that in making this decision, the appellate court took into account the fact that the case is still at the stage of preparatory proceedings, the accused undertook to fulfill a number of procedural obligations, including:

• not to leave the settlement in which he or she resides without a court order;
• to appear in court at the first request; to notify the court of a change of residence and/or place of work;
  
• to refrain from communicating with the victim and the accused Vitaliy Kozachuk, both directly and through third parties;
  
• to deposit their passport(s) for traveling abroad and other documents entitling them to leave and enter Ukraine with the relevant state authorities.
  

“Although the prosecutor pointed to the existence of risks, he did not substantiate them with relevant evidence. After analyzing the risks he stated, the Court of Appeal concluded that they were not concrete but abstract and were an attempt to further interfere with the person's right to freedom,” the court said.

AddendumAddendum

Serhiy Lutsiuk is suspected of abuse of power and beating a subordinate. Later, the SBI notified him of suspicion of corruption: he failed to declare assets worth UAH 46 million, including a property in Bukovel.