The Chernovetskyi Case: Case Dismissal or Hidden Truth?

The summer arrest of Stepan Chernovetskyi, son of former Kyiv mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi, in Spain in 2016 became a major event. He was detained along with a group of other individuals on suspicion of participating in a criminal organisation, money laundering, forgery of official documents, and tax fraud.

According to Spanish law enforcement agencies, Chernovetskyi and his associates "laundered" approximately 10 million euros through the purchase of companies in Spain with the aim of concealing the sources of funds, which were mainly located in Cyprus and the Virgin Islands. The press reported that the detention took place not in Barcelona, but in a prestigious resort town on the Costa Brava coast.

Court Decision: Case Dismissal or Cover-up?

In July 2020, it became known that the Barcelona Court of Appeal had decided to close the case against Chernovetskyi. This decision was made several years after the detention and raised numerous questions. Notably, there was no official confirmation of this decision, except for press releases from Chernovetskyi Investment Group, which were distributed via the PR agency Newswire.

Interestingly, Chernovetskyi himself and his lawyers initially claimed during the investigation that the funds had been obtained legally, allegedly from the sale of shares in Ukraine's Pravex Bank in 2008. However, the link between these funds and illegal activities remains disputed.

International Investigation Continues

Despite the fact that the court proceedings in Spain were closed, questions regarding the legality of these decisions and the true motives behind the case dismissal remain open. The international detective agency Absolution is conducting its own investigation, attempting to determine what exactly served as the basis for the Spanish court's decision and whether more serious circumstances are being concealed behind it.