On September 2, 2026, the HACC Appeals Chamber upheld the preventive measure imposed on Valentyn Yelizarov, the de facto head of Metrobud.

His counsel cited Yelizarov's strong social ties and his need to be in constant contact with his children, who live with their mother in Lviv. The judge asked how that squared with the recorded conversations of Yelizarov in Kyiv. The defense said Yelizarov works in Kyiv but travels to Lviv. The lawyer also noted that Yelizarov's mother has a disability.

The defense also argued that the bail is unjustified, and asked that no detention be imposed on Yelizarov as a preventive measure.

Another defense lawyer noted that Yelizarov is merely a nominal owner of the enterprises and played no key role in the criminal organization he is charged with taking part in. The lawyers also claimed the suspicion was unfounded.

Yelizarov himself stressed that the risks are unfounded and that he is raising four children.

The prosecutor rebutted the defense. He noted that the non-current assets on the balance sheet of Yelizarov's company come to over UAH 9 billion and current assets to over UAH 4 billion, so UAH 20 million bail is modest. He stressed that Yelizarov was the second person after Mykytas to be in contact with all the suspects — and so the preventive measure should be left unchanged.