Court “forgave” Alexey Omelyanenko, who stole 5 billion, 93 million hryvnia bail

Court “forgave” Alexey Omelyanenko, who stole 5 billion, 93 million hryvnia bail

The selective “humanity” of the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv granted a colossal discount of 93 million hryvnias for Oleksiy Omelyanenko, who in 2008–2010 served as deputy chairman of the board of JSC Ukrgasbank and is reasonably suspected of embezzling state funds on an especially large scale.

Thus, on 6 April 2019, the scandalously notorious judge Vyacheslav Pidpalyi (against whom a criminal case is registered for issuing a knowingly unlawful decision (Art. 375 of the Criminal Code) — the lifting of the freeze on the accounts of former Vice Prime Minister Serhiy Arbuzov at the request of the ex-official’s defenders) in criminal case No. 757/17942/19 decided to extend Omelyanenko’s pretrial detention by 2 months, but reduced the original bail from 96 million hryvnias to 3 million.

And already on 9 April the suspect peacefully left the temporary detention facility.

The amount of his bail now covers only a small portion of the debts of the businessman’s sham companies to Ukrainian banks, which exceed 5 billion hryvnias. But, evidently, it is quite enough for his immediate release from custody. With all the consequences that entails.

Unfortunately, the reasons for such lenient treatment by the judges toward the ex-banker who caused billion-hryvnia losses to the state have not yet been learned.

Earlier, the pretrial investigation established that during 2008–2010 the former deputy chairman of the board of JSC Ukrgasbank, Oleksiy Omelyanenko, in collusion with the then-head of one of the bank’s directorates, organized a scheme to siphon state funds to the accounts of a pre-established controlled sham enterprise by issuing it a loan in the amount of 100 million hryvnias with the aim of subsequently misappropriating those funds.

He is suspected of fictitious entrepreneurship (part 3 of Art. 27, part 2 of Art. 28, part 2 of Art. 205 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and of appropriation, embezzlement of property or seizure of property by abuse of office (part 3 of Art. 27, part 5 of Art. 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

As a result, on 22 February 2019 the Kyiv Court of Appeal, in criminal case No. 42016000000001183, ordered that he be detained until 10 April inclusive, with the option to post bail of 96 million hryvnias. And here comes such an early “discount”…

However, Kyiv courts have shown similar leniency before toward this businessman, who for many years headed the Party of Regions faction in the Kyiv City Council — a year ago he was already detained in the same case, also on a substantial bail of 40 million hryvnias — which was later drastically reduced as well, allowing the suspect once again to evade justice.

Fortunately, he has enough funds to pay these small bails, as well as to work with judges — earlier the media published a list of Oleksiy Omelyanenko’s enterprises and their overdue debts to Ukrainian banks.