On Wednesday, 5 June, the panel of judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court approved a plea agreement in the case of misappropriation of funds of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia in the amount of UAH 21.5 million. This was reported by the HACC press service. According to Slovo i Dilo, the defendants are former director of Inkomm LLC Nadiya Bohdan and former CFO of Soyuz-Energo LLC Dmytro Tsivun.
Under the terms of the agreement, the defendants unconditionally pleaded guilty to the crimes charged, partially compensated the damage caused by their actions in the amount of UAH 10.7 million by transferring the said funds to the account of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia and undertook to compensate the remaining damage within 30 business days after the verdict enters into force.
A former employee of a private enterprise was found guilty of committing criminal offences under Article 27(5), Article 28(2), Article 364(2), Article 27(5), Article 209(3) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The former executive of the business entity was found guilty of committing criminal offences under Part 5 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 364, Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Each of the convicts was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of four years and six months, with disqualification to hold positions related to the performance of organisational and administrative functions in legal entities of private law for a term of one year and one month, and fined one thousand tax-free minimum incomes.
Taking into account the requirements of Part 2, Part 4 of Article 75 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, both convicts were released from serving the main sentence of imprisonment for a term of four years and six months with probation for a term of one year and one month and imposed with the obligations stipulated by Article 76 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The verdict may be appealed on the grounds provided for in part 4 of Article 394 of the CPC of Ukraine to the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court through the High Anti-Corruption Court within thirty days from the date of its announcement.
Slovo i Dilo notes that five people were previously charged in the case: Nadiya Bohdan, Dmytro Tsivun, Andriy Stepanenko, Yevhen Khoroshchak and Roman Kravchuk. According to the investigation, former Ukrzaliznychpostach director Khoroshchak, his ex-deputy Kravchuk, and Stepanenko, head of the Ukrzaliznychpostach track supervision department, allegedly in prior conspiracy with Inkomm LLC director Bohdan and Soyuz-Energo LLC financial director Tsivun in April-November 2015, purchased hardware products for the needs of the state-owned enterprise at inflated prices, causing particularly large losses to the state-owned enterprise.
Ukrainian businessman Oleksiy Bilenkyy, who, according to the investigation, is a beneficiary of the Inkomm group of companies, is also suspected in the same case. He is currently in hiding in Bulgaria, and in Ukraine, he is to be tried in absentia in the HACC.