The HACC held the first preparatory hearing today in the civil forfeiture case concerning assets belonging to former Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba.

Neither Kuleba nor the other respondents in the case appeared in court.

The panel of HACC judges heard a number of motions today, including requests to:

• hold part of the proceedings in closed session, due to information concerning the minor child of one of the respondents;
• obtain evidence from the Deposit Guarantee Fund and the National Bank;
• question witnesses.

The SAPO is seeking to have assets belonging to Oleksii Kuleba — former Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration and former Minister of Development of Communities and Territories, worth nearly UAH 5 million — declared unsubstantiated and forfeited to the state. The assets in question are a 109.9 m² apartment valued at UAH 4.4 million and a parking space worth UAH 520,000. The HACC had earlier seized both at the request of the SAPO prosecutor.