The HACC held the first preparatory hearing today in the case of MP Viktor Bondar and his co-defendants on charges of misappropriating funds of Ukrzaliznytsia JSC in the procurement of cable and wire products.

At the outset, Bondar's defense counsel moved to recuse the prosecutor, arguing that he had violated the procedure for reviewing case materials and for obtaining the Prosecutor General's approval before applying a restraint measure to an MP. 

The prosecutor responded that the defendants' and their counsel's arguments in court differed fundamentally from the positions they had taken during the pre-trial investigation. Regarding Viktor Bondar specifically, he stated that all procedural steps concerning him as an MP had been duly coordinated with the Prosecutor General. On the disclosure procedure, prosecutor Rybalkin added that he had maintained a good working relationship with Bondar's defense counsel: when he discovered duplicate documents during case review, he simply notified the attorney and the issue was resolved by phone.

Prosecutor Rybalkin also filed a motion to sever materials into separate proceedings for two defendants — Volodymyr Dovbenko and Oleksandr Melnyk — who had reached an agreement with the investigation and wished to plead guilty.

Judge Khamzin denied the recusal motion and retained the prosecutor in the case. The court granted the motion to sever proceedings for Dovbenko and Melnyk; plea agreements will be concluded with them.

Viktor Bondar and his co-defendants are charged with procurement fraud involving cable and wire products for Ukrzaliznytsia JSC. The losses sustained by the company as a result of the criminal scheme exceeded UAH 140 million, part of which the members of the organized group laundered and used at their own discretion.

The defendants' actions are charged under Article 191(5) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.