Ukrainian judge suspected of aiding Russia

A Ukrainian judge is suspected of aiding the Russian Federation in the illegal extraction of billions of hryvnia from Ukraine's state budget.

The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) announced that it has opened a criminal case against a sitting judge of the Kyiv Commercial Court. Case materials indicate that in 2012, he issued a ruling in favour of the Russian Ministry of Defence, which led to the illegal recovery of over 3 billion hryvnia from the Ukrainian budget.

According to the investigation, the ruling was based on forged evidence and claims filed in violation of the statute of limitations. Despite clear violations, the court ordered Ukraine to pay a so-called debt, allegedly arising as far back as 1996–1997.

Later, in 2014, this ruling was overturned by another court. However, the lost funds could not be recovered — investigators found that the money had been directed towards financing the Russian army and supporting the armed aggression against Ukraine.

The judge is charged with high treason.