Pashinsky sent to pre-trial detention centre with alternative to bail: video of the hearing

26 February 16:40

The High Anti-Corruption Court has imposed a pre-trial restraint on Serhiy Pashynsky in the form of detention with the possibility of bail in the amount of UAH 272.52 million. This is stated in the broadcast of the High Anti-Corruption Court, according to Kommersant Ukrainian

“The motion is to be partially granted. To apply a preventive measure in the form of detention to the suspect Serhiy Pashynskyi. The validity of the decision to keep suspect Pashinsky in custody shall be determined until 25 April 2024,”

– the judge announced the decision.

At the same time, Pashinsky was granted an alternative measure of restraint in the form of bail in the amount of UAH 272.52 million. The Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office requested bail in the amount of UAH 299 million 999 thousand 100.

If bail is granted, Pashinsky will

  • report to the detective, prosecutor or court upon every summons and request;
  • not leave Kyiv and Kyiv region without the permission of the detective, prosecutor or court
  • notify the detective, prosecutor or court of any change of residence;
  • to refrain from communicating with other suspects, witnesses in criminal proceedings and other persons regarding the suspicion notified to him/her, except for defence counsels, detectives, prosecutors, investigating judge, court;
  • to deposit his/her passport for travelling abroad and other documents giving the right to leave and enter Ukraine with the relevant state authorities;
  • wear an electronic control device.

Pashynskyi case

on 12 February 2024, the anti-corruption authorities reported the exposure of a criminal organisation that caused losses to the state in the amount of UAH 967 million in 2014-2018. It is a scheme to misappropriate and sell 97,000 tonnes of state-confiscated oil products that were supposed to go to the army, the press service of the authorities reports.

Reportedly, in 2014, the state confiscated almost 100,000 tonnes of oil products from Serhiy Kurchenko’s structures and transferred them to a specialised state-owned enterprise for sale. This enterprise in return sold the raw materials at reduced prices to a company controlled by one of the organisers of the scheme. The funds were withdrawn to private accounts, thus causing UAH 967 million in losses to the state.

Six people have so far been notified of suspicion in the case, one of whom is “the former acting Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine, MP, head of one of the committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, co-organiser of the ML”, i.e. Serhiy Pashynskyi.

The suspect himself claims that in 2015 he initiated the transfer of fuel from Kurchenko or, as he claims, Rosneft to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. For this reason, allegedly on the orders of the Russians, criminal proceedings were opened against him. It is in connection with this case that the former MP’s home was searched today. Pashinsky emphasises that the case was brought up simultaneously with the Russian Investigative Committee.

Pashinsky’s story

Former Ukrainian MP Serhiy Pashinsky has gained notoriety as an odious figure due to a number of high-profile scandals in which he was involved. For example, on 31 December 2016, he had a conflict with Viacheslav Khimikus, a resident of Kyiv region, during which Pashynskyi shot him in the leg with a firearm. In 2021, the then MP was acquitted and the case against him was closed. It was also reported that Khimikus was paid UAH 1.5 million in compensation, after which he withdrew his claims against the MP.

The most recent accusations against Pashynskyi relate to his allegedly profiting from the supply of weapons to the Ukrainian army before and at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. For example, in 2022, the revenues of Ukrainian Armor, a weapons company that supplies weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and is linked to Pashynskyi, skyrocketed more than a hundredfold, reaching UAH 13 billion ($350 million). The SBI and NABU opened criminal proceedings and conducted searches in the cases. At the beginning of his presidential term, Volodymyr Zelenskyy even called Pashynskyi “100% bandit”.

At the same time, as the New York Times claimed in its own investigation, Pashinsky secured critical weapons for the Ukrainian army at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, when there was no military assistance from the West.

Остафійчук Ярослав
Editor