At today's hearing, the SAPO prosecutor set out the risks cited to justify a preventive measure for Serhii Kutsyi, “Comrade”:
Absconding from the investigation: Kutsyi was wholly dependent on Kropyva; all of his movement — specifically his trips abroad during the full-scale war — came only in Kropyva's company. Kutsyi was fully aware of Kropyva's life and was in contact with his entire circle. The investigation is therefore confident that if Kropyva had thoughts of fleeing, so did Kutsyi.
- Risk of distorting items and documents: investigators have evidence that Kutsyi could destroy certain items and documents to exonerate Kropyva or other suspects. The investigation recorded a conversation discussing the installation of an app on Kutsyi's phone to wipe all its contents. This came after NABU's investigative actions in July in a separate criminal case.
- Risk of unlawfully influencing witnesses: as Kropyva's subordinate and close associate, Kutsyi could influence others to exonerate his direct superior, Kropyva.
- Risk of otherwise obstructing the criminal proceedings: investigators established that Kutsyi acted to obstruct efforts to pin down current data on the cars used by the driver and his superior. The prosecution read out an excerpt of correspondence in which Kutsyi and Kropyva mull changing the cars' license plates for cover.
- Risk of committing another criminal offense: once the accomplices learned of investigative actions in the criminal case over the purchase of apartments in the Carpathians, Kutsyi and other participants in the crime tried to conceal all the assets.
The SAPO prosecutor said no preventive measure milder than detention with a bail alternative could be applied to Comrade. He also stressed that the evidence points to Kutsyi's active role in the property-legalization scheme: he was aware of everything the criminal group did and actively helped obtain the funds.
The prosecution asks that Serhii Kutsyi be held in detention as a preventive measure, with the alternative of posting UAH 20 million bail.
