The High Anti-Corruption Court has cancelled the notice of suspicion of corruption served on former MP Oleksandr Hranovskyi on 21 October 2022. This is stated in the court’s ruling, which is being disseminated by a number of domestic media, according to Komersant ukrainskyi
The ruling was issued by HACC investigating judge Volodymyr Voronko on 20 August and can be appealed within 5 days of its announcement. So far, the court has published only a short text of the ruling, and the full text is due on 26 August, after the appeal period has expired.
This is how the court responded to the complaint filed by Granovsky’s lawyer.
The Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office said they would appeal the judge’s ruling.
“The prosecutor believes that the evidence collected during the pre-trial investigation indicates that the person was involved in organising a criminal scheme, the implementation of which caused losses to Odesa Port Plant JSC (99.57% owned by the state) in the amount of UAH 93.3 million during the sale of mineral fertilisers. Taking into account the available evidence, the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office considers this decision of the judge to be illegal and unfounded and is preparing an appeal to the HACC Appeals Chamber.”
SAPO
The case of Hranovskyi
Oleksandr Hranovskyi is a businessman and politician, Member of Parliament of Ukraine of the VIII convocation from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, who was once called President Poroshenko’s “watchdog” for the courts.
The investigation believes that Hranovsky is the organiser of a corruption scheme at the Odesa Port Plant (OPP), where 99.57% of the shares are owned by the state. According to the NABU, in 2015, the plant sold mineral fertilisers at reduced prices to a company that was identified in advance. This company resold the fertilisers to foreign companies at market prices, while the OPP provided the supply. As a result of this scheme , the plant lost about UAH 93.3 million in revenue for the period from March to December 2015.
on 21 October 2022, the NABU and the SAPO served Hranovskyi with a notice of suspicion. on 15 November 2022, the NABU put him on the international wanted list (however, in February 2024, the former MP’s lawyer stated that his client was not actually put on the international wanted list, as the NABU’s request to Interpol was blocked). on 7 December 2022, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) arrested Oleksandr Hranovskyi in absentia.