In Odesa a Judge Illegally Helped the Vice Mayor’s Brother Recover 1,85 Million Dollars

In Odesa a judge illegally helped the vice mayor’s brother recover 1,85 million dollars

In Odesa, Suvorivskyi District Court judge Nina Hudina on her last day before dismissal issued five knowingly unjust ex parte rulings, among them a decision to recover 45 million hryvnias in favor of a relative of Vice Mayor Mykhailo Kuchuk.

The editorial office of 368.media learned this from a criminal complaint filed with the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR).

The official’s biological brother, Vyacheslav Kuchuk, entered into the private enterprise Alstar owned by Svitlana Devyashyna, but did not pay her for the share in the business. Subsequently the official and his brother tried to seize the business and blocked the woman’s access to the company. The matter was later resolved through Judge Hudina. In his statement of claim Kuchuk emphasized that in 2010 the parties, based on joint partial ownership of individuals, created the private enterprise Alstar, with each contributing 50% of funds to the company’s statutory capital. The enterprise was established to generate profit through business activities in: wholesale trade of grain, seeds and animal feed, warehousing, cultivation of grain crops, industrial and other crops.

During the joint economic activity, Devyashyna received from Kuchuk funds for the company’s development under the pretext of purchasing grain, in the total amount of 1,85 million dollars, for which she prepared an IOU. Kuchuk did not take an active part in the company’s activities but, trusting the defendant, financed the enterprise expecting its development and profit. After the claimant learned that the defendant allegedly spent the received sum for her own needs, he went to court with the stated claim and asked for repayment of the funds.

As stated in the complaint about the crime, the judge was dismissed in September 2016 pursuant to her own resignation. On the day of her dismissal, 57 minutes before the end of the working day, an automatic assignment distributed the civil case filed by Vyacheslav Kuchuk against Svitlana Devyashyna for recovery of 1,85 million dollars, along with several other civil cases.

The Vice Mayor of Odesa, who is being checked by NACP, keeps 53 million hryvnias in cash

Before the end of the working day, that is, 57 minutes remaining, she issued a ruling to open proceedings and scheduled a court hearing for 14 October 2016, summoned the parties to the hearing, sent the defendant copies of the ruling and the complaint with attached documents, and instructed to provide objections or a counterclaim. She also ordered provisional relief by seizing the corporate rights of PE Alstar belonging to Devyashyna. Later the judge satisfied Kuchuk’s claims in absentia by ordering recovery in favor of the claimant of 45,6 million hryvnias. According to Yershov, such actions by the judge indicate the commission of a criminal offense under Art. 375 of the Criminal Code.

In particular, the defendant was knowingly deprived of the right to defense because all procedural actions were performed by the judge either within 57 minutes on the day of dismissal, which is impossible under the actual circumstances, or in the period from 22 September to 6 October after receiving an unlawful benefit from the claimant by issuing rulings and an ex parte decision by a judge already dismissed and without authority. The complaint emphasizes that Hudina did not examine at an open hearing the original handwritten text that the claimant considered an IOU. Later Devyashyna returned to the court registry with a petition to review the ex parte decision in the case, which was referred for consideration to Judge Ivan Shepitko.

The judge indicated that, as seen from the case materials, the defendant was not properly notified of the case hearing and the ex parte decision was indeed made without her notification. At the same time, in the text of the ruling the judge contradicted the above, stating that the defendant pointed out violations in the case hearing, an incorrect assessment of the IOU presented as proof of receipt of funds, the need to examine witnesses, involve third parties, join the proper defendant, and asserted the groundlessness of the claimed demands, which, in the defendant’s view, are grounds for overturning the ex parte decision.

Hudina’s ex parte ruling was overturned by the Odesa Regional Court of Appeal, which ruled to dismiss the claim in full. The appellate court clearly stated that the civil case materials do not contain evidence that Devyashyna received 1,85 million dollars from Kuchuk, and therefore the trial court reached an erroneous conclusion about the legal grounds for granting the claim. The complaint alleges that Judge Ivan Shepitko attempted to pressure the higher court by filing a motion to return the case for reconsideration to the Suvorivskyi District Court. Recall that the judge was dismissed in 2019 for numerous violations by decision of the High Council of Justice.

It is worth noting that Vyacheslav Kuchuk is the brother of the vice mayor of Odesa. In his declaration for 2020 Kuchuk reported cash assets totaling 39,4 million hryvnias, as well as property in Ukraine and abroad worth 39,7 million hryvnias, and corporate rights of himself and his wife totaling 6,8 million hryvnias. Conversely, according to the tax service data, the vice mayor’s income from 1998 to 2020 and his spouse’s income from 2002 to 2020 amount to only 4,1 and 5,4 million hryvnias respectively. It is also unknown where 1,85 million dollars came from, which Kuchuk allegedly lent to his business partner. Meanwhile the NACP did not find signs of corruption in Kuchuk’s declaration.

The declaration was checked for 175 calendar days within the standard term of 120. Although the resulting document is hard to call the product of a detailed check. The Kuchuk family has two apartments in the Czech Republic (85,9 and 119 sq. m), a homestead (616 sq. m) and a non-residential premises (449 sq. m), and in Greece — a house (160 sq. m). For verification Kuchuk provided extracts from Czech registers that were not properly certified by the competent authorities of that country. At the same time, no replies were received from Czech authorities to letters sent by NACP officials. And no queries were sent to Greece.

It is interesting that the firm GERYNA s.r.o., where Kuchuk served as director, was also examined. It was to this company that the family lent 18,2 million Czech korunas. The vice mayor reported that he held the director position at his company on a voluntary, unpaid basis. The Ministry of Finance of the republic also did not respond to the NACP’s request within the verification period.

NACP officials then calculated that Kuchuk declared cash assets totaling 39,4 million hryvnias, and property in Ukraine and abroad totaling 39,7 million hryvnias, and corporate rights of himself and his wife totaling 6,8 million hryvnias. Conversely, according to tax service data, the vice mayor’s income from 1998 to 2020 and his spouse’s income from 2002 to 2020 amount to only 4,1 and 5,4 million hryvnias respectively. However, Mykhailo Kuchuk did not exercise his right to provide explanations and documents about the origin of family income that would substantiate the declared assets.

Information about income received abroad is absent from Ukrainian state registers. Kuchuk also did not provide in the declaration information on the value of jewelry items. He declared his wristwatches Breguet, Vacheron Constantin and his wife’s watches Hysek, Ulysse Nardin, as well as her jewelry.

After all the discrepancies were identified, the agency reported that it found no signs of administrative or criminal offenses in the official’s declaration. Currently the authorized NACP official must take measures to ensure that Kuchuk files a declaration with accurate information. NACP added that if new information about Kuchuk’s and his family’s real estate emerges, that may be grounds for a repeated check.