The HACC today granted a motion filed by Oleksandr Taran's defense and released him from criminal liability due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
Oleksandr Taran served as head of the State Agency of Ukraine for Investment and Development from 2010 to 2014.
According to investigators, in 2010 then–First Deputy Prime Minister Kliuiev, in collusion with Taran, allegedly organized the embezzlement of over UAH 195 million in budget funds.
Taran's actions were classified under Article 191(5) of the Criminal Code, and the statute of limitations expired in 2025.
Back in 2017, the Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv seized a range of assets belonging to Oleksandr Taran, including:
- 48 parking spaces
- 4 apartments
- 2 land plots
- 3 residential buildings (an empty residential building, a house, and a cottage)
- 1 former school building
During the preparatory proceedings at the HACC, the question of lifting the seizure on this property was already reviewed once, and the motion was denied. As became clear at today's hearing, the question of lifting the seizure will be reconsidered at the next hearing.
The pretrial investigation was repeatedly suspended pending international legal assistance from the Republic of Italy. After the investigation concluded on May 12, 2023, the defense delayed reviewing the case materials, prompting the HACC investigating judge to set a deadline of October 2023. The indictment was sent to court on October 17, 2023.
The case against Kliuiev and Taran was investigated by the Special Investigations Department of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine starting in 2014 and was transferred to NABU in 2019. The indictment reached the HACC on October 17, 2023, and preparatory proceedings lasted over a year and a half.
As for the other defendant — Andrii Kliuiev, former first deputy prime minister under the fugitive former president — the trial will continue. Proceedings are being conducted in absentia due to Kliuiev's evasion of the investigation and the court. According to Ukrainian media reports, he currently lives in Russia.
