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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The court allowed the defense of sanctioned smuggler Yerimichuk to obtain iCase system logs
The investigative judge partially granted the motion from the defense of sanctioned Chernivtsi smuggler Oleksandr Volodymyrovych Yerimichuk (also Alexandru Yerimicuk under his Romanian passport).
The lawyer received access to the audit logs of the iCase system in the separated proceeding No. 52024000000000465.
What he is accused of
The proceeding was separated on 11 September 2024 from the large customs case No. 52017000000000802, which NABU has been investigating since November 2017.
Yerimichuk was notified of suspicion on 16 April 2024: creating a criminal organization, aiding and abetting abuse of official position, evading taxes in especially large amounts, and giving a bribe.
According to the investigation’s version, no later than 8 December 2016 he, together with another organizer, agreed to transport clothing, footwear, bags, and fabric from Turkey transit through the EU or from Romania. Trucks at the checkpoint were declared as empty. The scheme involved the head of the customs office, without whom the cargo could not be released into free circulation.
The investigation divides the organization into three groups. The first two were led by businessmen, the third by customs officers. From 2 March 2017 to 26 May 2019 the Yerimichuk group, according to the suspicion, underpaid 60,34 million UAH in import duty and 145,98 million UAH in VAT. The total amount is 206,32 million UAH, which is qualified as an especially large amount.
In public discourse this case is called the Chernivtsi Customs and Vadul-Siret checkpoint case.
NABU and the SAP notified 11 persons of suspicion, among them former customs chief Mykola Salahor and businessman Yuriy Kushnir. The total damage, according to the bureau, is about 290 million UAH. Some defendants have already reached agreements with the prosecutor. Yerimichuk is wanted. The VACJ appellate chamber in October 2024 left his pretrial detention in absentia. NSDC sanctions and deprivation of Ukrainian citizenship have been applied since 2021.
Why the defense requested the logs
Yerimichuk left Ukraine on 20 December 2023 — several months before the suspicion was issued. The defense claims that the detective and the SAP prosecutor knew about his Romanian citizenship and residence abroad, yet entered the suspicion into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations without proper service, seized his wife’s property for the purpose of special confiscation, announced a nationwide and international search, obtained the VACJ order of 14 May 2024 to hold him in custody, and separated the case into a separate proceeding.
The lawyer believes the iCase logs should show who and when opened the case, which documents were uploaded, and whether there was a leak of information.
What the court allowed
Access was granted only to the separated proceeding No. 52024000000000465 and only for the period from 11 September 2024 to 5 August 2026: who viewed the case file, tabs and attachments, who printed and exported PDFs, from which IP addresses and under which login.
Access to the “parent” case No. 52017000000000802 was denied by the court because it has already been transferred to the court, and the defense can review the materials there.
In December 2024 NABU had already provided Yerimichuk with investigation materials and summoned him regarding Denys Monastyrskyi, 3. He did not appear for the summons. The special pretrial investigation continues in absentia.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Суд дозволив захисту підсанкційного контрабандиста Єримічука отримати логи системи «іКейс»". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ANTIKOR.
