On August 3, 2026, the HACC's Appeals Chamber imposed a fine on lawyer Oleksii Nosov, accused of offering a $200,000 bribe, for failing to appear at the hearing.

The defendant had been properly notified of the hearing but did not attend.

It emerged that Nosov had left Ukraine back during the first-instance trial and has not yet returned — as confirmed by both the presiding judge and the defense. How exactly he managed to leave the country remains unclear; his lawyers said only that it was done “entirely legally.”

Nosov himself asked the court to allow him to take part in the hearing via video conference. The Appeals Chamber denied that motion, ruled his absence unjustified, and imposed a fine of UAH 6,656.

The Appeals Chamber also heard from one of Nosov's lawyers today. He argued that the prosecution had failed to establish that Nosov had actually made a bribe offer, saying it remains unclear which specific words or phrases investigators construed as such an offer. According to the defense, the first meeting on April 10 involved no bribe offer at all, and the undercover agent involved, known as “Artem,” testified in court that he had merely “assumed” Nosov intended to hand over money.

The defense therefore argues that investigators engaged in entrapment and groundlessly concealed the witness's identity. According to the lawyer, the witness had purchased the phone and SIM card used to contact Nosov the day before their first conversation specifically for that purpose — allegedly indicating a pre-planned cover story. Despite this, the first-instance court denied a request for voice analysis to identify the witness and refused to declassify his data.

The lawyer also cited numerous procedural violations, including the absence of video recordings from the April 17–18 meetings, insufficient time given to prepare for closing arguments, and the court's failure to rule on a motion to recuse the judge over violations of technical recording procedures during the presentation of electronic evidence.

On these grounds, the lawyer asked the court to overturn the first-instance verdict and send the case for a new trial.

The parties' statements will continue at the next hearing, scheduled for August 17, when another of Nosov's lawyers and the SAPO prosecutor are due to speak.

Oleksii Nosov is accused of offering a $200,000 bribe to NABU and SAPO officials in exchange for transferring the case of his client — Yuliia Frolova, chair of the board of Alliance Bank — to a different pretrial investigation body. On June 9, the HACC found him guilty and sentenced him to 4.5 years' imprisonment, along with a 3-year ban on practicing law.