Case description
On January 18, 2024, the HACC acquitted Apollinarii Nahalevskyi, former deputy head of one of the departments of the Prosecutor General’s Office. He was accused of organizing renovations worth almost UAH 1.8 million, which were not actually performed.
According to the prosecution, facilities manager Nahalevskyi facilitated the conclusion of a number of agreements with private companies, allegedly for renovations of the premises of the Prosecutor General’s Office. His intentions were proven as follows:
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There was no actual need to renovate the administrative premises. Furthermore, if necessary, the relevant services could have been provided by both full-time employees of the prosecutor’s office and time-tested contractors.
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The companies with which agreements were concluded did not actually carry out business activities and had signs of fictitiousness.
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The list of renovation works and services included mainly those that can only be checked while the work is in process. For example: works on technical testing and analysis of the technical condition of power grids, electrical equipment, internal fire control water supply systems, flushing internal sewage networks, etc.
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To avoid an open bidding procedure, three agreements were concluded with each company for amounts slightly below the threshold (the price of each agreement was UAH 199,999);
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All documents on behalf of the officials of these contractors were not signed by them and contained false information.
Initially, Nahalevskyi’s actions fell under Article 191, part 5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Instead, the prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office requested that the court find Nahalevskyi guilty under Article 364, part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Given that the Prosecutor General’s Office has a multi-level control system, and that agreements, reports, and other related documents were signed and approved by various individuals, it would be wrong, in the panel’s opinion, to single out the actions of only one person and bring him or her to justice.
The HACC panel further noted that the prosecution had not properly proven that the Prosecutor General’s Office had suffered losses worth almost UAH 1.8 million. According to the court, no mercenary motives were established in Nahalevskyi’s actions, nor was the intent to commit a crime or the purpose of taking bribes established.
As a result, the HACC acquitted Nahalevskyi due to insufficient unequivocal evidence against him. The prosecutor filed a complaint with the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court. The case is still pending.
Nahalevskyi also attempted to give a USD 5,000 bribe to an official of the State Audit Service for a positive decision after the audit and concealment of alleged violations of the law during the procurement of services. The HACC Appeals Chamber released him from liability because the statute of limitations period had expired.
