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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The statute of limitations for the case was going to expire in a few years.
The investigative agreement with the former acting head of the Presidential Administration, Serhiy Pashynskyi, became possible because he agreed to give incriminating testimony against other defendants in the investigation, so he did not simply buy his way out of prison, but created opportunities for a deeper investigation of corruption offenses, said Vitaliy Shabunin, head of the board of the Anti-Corruption Action Center.
The activist pointed out that Pashynskyi admitted guilt in embezzling 800 million hryvnias. At the same time, under the terms of the agreement with investigators he will return 600 million hryvnias to the state and additionally pay 500 million hryvnias to the "Come Back Alive" foundation and Sternenko’s foundation for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Additionally, another defendant in the case, Serhiy Tyshchenko, will pay 100 million hryvnias into the budget. Thus, in total Pashynskyi and his associate will return 1,2 billion hryvnias to the state.
"True, we’re losing a lot to inflation over these years, but that’s how it is. And that’s still not everything and not the main point. You only make a deal with an organizer when he names another organizer. Who exactly, is unknown for now, because the agreement is sealed. But I eagerly await new developments in this case based on Pashynskyi’s incriminating testimony," Shabunin said.
He added that this agreement with investigators cannot be classified as a simple buyout also because the case about the embezzlement of the 'Kurchenko fuel products' comprises almost 150 volumes, and the statutes of limitations expire within the next three years. Accordingly, Pashynskyi’s lawyers could have easily delayed the process, and he might not have faced any accountability at all.
"So the question is not which is better—prison or money. The question is what we could realistically obtain," Shabunin summed up.
Recall that in 24 September the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office reported that the High Anti-Corruption Court approved a plea agreement with Serhiy Pashynskyi. He admitted his guilt, undertook to return the losses, and to pay a fine. Additionally, he was barred for a year from holding positions in state authorities and local self-government. The agreement does not provide for confiscation of property, because such a punishment for this crime was introduced into the Criminal Code only after the crime, in June of 2020.
The case concerns events in the spring–summer of 2014, when Pashynskyi used his official position to seize arrested fuel products. The state lost more than 817 million hryvnias.
Last year another defendant in the case, businessman Serhiy Tyshchenko, went for a deal with investigators.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Чи дійсно Пашинський відкупився від тюрми: Шабунін пояснив, що реально стоїть за угодою". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ZN.ua.
