Ex-Deputy Head of the SBI explains the complexity of investigating white-collar crimes

The main difficulty in investigating crimes related to abuse of power and official position is to determine the scope of an official's duties and powers, which are often not specified. Oleksandr Babikov, the former First Deputy Head of the State Bureau of Investigation, told UNN in an exclusive commentary.

"The key is the scope of rights and official powers of a person, because it is necessary to study whether this (the decision made by the official - ed.) was part of his official duties or not, whether he used his official duties or acted on a special order. This is very important," Babikov said.

In addition, according to him, investigators investigating crimes related to abuse of power and official position must find out whether the official's use of his or her official duties and power is related to the damage and negative consequences that have occurred. 

"The main difficulty in investigating these proceedings is to prove that a particular official has illegally used his or her official powers or authority and that this has led to negative consequences. Why? Because in any government agency or organization, the powers of different officials may overlap or not be sufficiently detailed or specified," Babikov said.

Babikov also added that in some cases, decisions are made collectively by certain bodies, which has legal consequences, and the official only signs, and in fact formalizes, the decision. And in some cases, such a decision goes through certain stages of approval by the heads of departments and offices that endorse it, meaning that everyone is responsible for their area.  In this case, according to Babikov, Article 364 of the Criminal Code (abuse of power and official position) cannot be applied. According to him, this article stipulates that this is a crime with an intentional form of guilt.

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At the end of December 2023, the State Bureau of Investigation opened a criminal proceeding on the fact of possible abuse of office by the NBU's chief lawyer. The case concerns a letter from the National Bank to the Deposit Guarantee Fund signed by Zyma, in which he recommended that the Fund withdraw the lawsuits filed by Concord Bank against the NBU.  The document referred to four lawsuits filed by the bank against the NBU, in which Concorde demanded the cancellation of fines totaling almost UAH 63.5 million. They were filed even before the National Bank decided to liquidate Concorde and put it under temporary administration.  It is worth noting that Zyma, in addition to the legal department of the National Bank, also heads the Administrative Council of the Deposit Guarantee Fund.

According to Concorde co-owner Olena Sosiedka, Zima's instructions deprived the bank's shareholders of their constitutional right to a fair trial. 

After more than 9 months, SBI investigators transferred the case of the National Bank's chief lawyer to the Police Department in Kyiv's Pechersk district. According to Yulia Sosedka, co-owner of Concorde, law enforcement officers are trying to delay the investigation. At the same time, SBI investigators have not complied with the court decision to recognize Yulia Sosedka as a victim in the criminal proceedings.

The police told UNN that they plan to identify the victims and interrogate NBU Chief Lawyer Oleksandr Zyma. In addition, investigators will apply to the court for Zyma's removal from office after he is served with a notice of suspicion.

Recall

Earlier, security expert Serhiy Shabovta said in a commentary to UNN that Zyma has a patron and therefore feels impunity. According to him, the National Bank's chief lawyer, Oleksandr Zyma, is a person close to NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyi. That is why he is confident that he will not be prosecuted under the current legislation for his violations.