On September 6, the Appellate Chamber of the Higher Anti-Corruption Court (VACS) rejected the complaint of Kostyantyn Zhevago’s lawyers against the decision of the court of first instance dated July 10, which provides for the businessman’s arrest in absentia. He is suspected of providing undue benefits to the chairman and judges of the Supreme Court. This is reported by “Interfax-Ukraine”.
Zhevago’s defenders claim that there are no grounds for such an arrest, calling the actions of investigative bodies and the court illegal. Lawyers insist that Zhevago’s location is known, the investigation has his contacts, and the businessman himself is in constant contact with law enforcement officers. In particular, they pointed to the interrogation of Zhevago in France on July 11, which lasted 11 hours and took place with the participation of NABU detectives and the SAP prosecutor.
“Given these circumstances, the decision of the same NABU detective to declare Konstantin Zhevago on the international wanted list is completely unfounded and absurd. Detectives have been conducting procedural and investigative actions involving Mr. Zhevago for over a year with the involvement of French law enforcement officers. Thus, NABU is misleading the court and society, declaring the impossibility of an investigation involving Konstantin Zhevago”, – noted the lawyers.
The lawyers also noted that the selection of a preventive measure took place without sufficient evidence of Zhevago’s involvement in the incriminated actions. According to them, the prosecution is based on the testimony of only one witness, who made a deal with the investigation and is interested in preserving his sentence.
The defenders also emphasized the violation of Zhevago’s rights, as he was not allowed to participate in the court proceedings and they did not have access to the case files.
As early as August 3, 2023, SAP and NABU notified Zhevago of suspicion of bribing Supreme Court judges in an attempt to save the shares of the Poltava Mining and Processing Plant, purchased by him in 2002, from a court decision in favor of former shareholders.
On July 10, 2024, the Investigating Judge of the VAX decided to arrest Zhevago in absentia. At the same time, France previously refused to extradite him.
