The HACC has acquitted former officials of State Enterprise Sea Commercial Port Pivdennyi. They had been charged with unlawfully accruing excessive salaries during the COVID-19 quarantine restrictions imposed by the Cabinet of Ministers.

According to the prosecution, between April and August 2020, acting Director Oleksandr Oliinyk, acting in prior conspiracy with his deputies, arranged for his own salary to be accrued well above the cap set by the Cabinet of Ministers. Under a special law and a Cabinet resolution, the salaries of top management at state-owned enterprises could not exceed ten minimum wages (as of January 1, 2020) for the duration of the COVID-19 quarantine — capping the acting director's monthly pay at UAH 47,230.

To carry out the scheme, the defendants introduced a mechanism whereby the director's full salary — which reached over UAH 500,000 per month — was accrued in its entirety, but only the statutory limit was actually paid out, with the remainder artificially recorded as the enterprise's debt to the employee. The investigation maintained that this caused state losses of UAH 1,308,650.24. The charges were brought under Article 191(5) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

 According to media reports, notices of suspicion were served on:

• Oleksandr Oliinyk, former acting director of Pivdennyi Seaport,
• Dmytro Kuzmishkin, deputy director for legal and property affairs, and
• Volodymyr Mandra, former deputy director for economics and finance.

The defense argued that the case amounted to the artificial criminalization of ordinary employment and commercial relations, and that the payments in question constituted lawful contractual remuneration. The defendants pleaded not guilty throughout the proceedings. Defense counsel stressed that the accruals were made in compliance with applicable legislation, the collective agreement, and job descriptions, and that the government-imposed restrictions contained certain legal ambiguities regarding their application to directors of state enterprises of this type.

After examining the case materials, the HACC panel found no criminal offense in the defendants' conduct. The court determined that the officials had not abused their positions, that the salary payments were made on the basis of job descriptions, and that the management's actions were aimed at protecting the enterprise's interests and ensuring its stable operations during the pandemic.

The verdict has not yet entered into force and is being appealed by the prosecutor before the HACC Appeals Chamber.

Separately, in August 2025, Oliinyk received a further notice of suspicion — this time in connection with the 2021 procurement of two telescopic handlers at inflated prices, allegedly causing state losses of over UAH 8 million. The investigation is ongoing.