Judge of Kyiv Commercial Court suspected of high treason

Anatoliy Yvchenko, a judge of the Kyiv Commercial Court, has become the subject of an investigation after ruling in 2012 in favour of a claim by the Russian Ministry of Defence against the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for the recovery of 3.1 billion hryvnia. 

The judge was granted bail in the amount of one million hryvnia, the Court Reporter reports, citing information from the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).

Allegations of high treason

Yvchenko is suspected of committing a crime under Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — high treason. According to the investigation, he acted in prior conspiracy with a group of individuals, as confirmed by Article 28, Part 2 of the Criminal Code. Former senior Ukrainian officials are also implicated in the case, including former President and former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who is wanted by law enforcement.

The 2012 court ruling

The key element that formed the basis for the allegations was Yvchenko's ruling in 2012. He upheld the claim by the Russian Ministry of Defence against the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, demanding the recovery of over three billion hryvnia for debt obligations allegedly arising from natural gas supplies in 1996–1997. These supplies were linked to the company "Unified Energy Systems," which was then headed by Yulia Tymoshenko.

According to SBI data, Ukraine had no connection to the debt of a commercial entity and should not have covered it. The recovery of funds, the agency claims, was part of a broader Russian plan aimed at using Ukrainian funds to finance Russia's defence under the guise of enforcing a court ruling.

Investigation and consequences

The enforcement of the court ruling resulted in approximately 40 million hryvnia being recovered from the Ukrainian budget in favour of the Russian Federation. However, after 2014, when Ukraine experienced a change of power against the backdrop of Russian aggression, another judge overturned this ruling. Despite this, the funds paid in the interests of the Russian Federation could not be recovered. The investigation claims that these funds were used to finance military aggression against Ukraine.

Currently, as part of the investigation, work is ongoing to establish all circumstances related to this case, as well as to determine full accountability for the actions that led to the unjustified outflow of funds from the Ukrainian budget.

Reaction to the judge's actions

The High Council of Justice of Ukraine previously rejected a motion to detain Judge Yvchenko and did not decide to remove him from office. This decision sparked public debate, as many believe that the judiciary should not be shielded from legal consequences for rulings that may be deemed harmful to the state.