HACC extended the preventive measure against former head of “Naftogaz” Andriy Kobolev for another two months

The Higher Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) extended the preventive measure for two months for the former head of “Naftogaz” Andriy Kobolev in the case of a bonus of more than 229 million hryvnias.

The HACC press service writes about it.

Within two months, Kobolev must appear at every request of the detective, the prosecutor, the investigating judge and the court in this proceeding, and must not leave the borders of Kyiv and the region without permission.

The ex-head of “Naftogaz” was also ordered to hand in all passports and documents required for traveling abroad and to wear an electronic bracelet.

• On April 14, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office (SAPO) completed the investigation of Andriy Kobolevʼs case. Prior to that, the High Anti-corruption Court repeatedly refused to extend the terms of the pre-trial investigation, although the SAPO asked to extend the terms for another six months.
• On the same day, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) seized gigabytes of electronic correspondence regarding Andriy Kobolevʼs award and insisted on extending the period of the pre-trial investigation.
• On January 31, the High Anti-Corruption Court recognized the suspicion of Andriy Kobolev as "unfounded" and refused to choose a preventive measure for him ( arrest with an alternative to bail ). Then the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecutorʼs Office appealed this decision, and Kobolev was given a bail of 229 million hryvnias. According to his lawyer, he paid half of the bail amount.
• On January 19, 2023, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau announced to Andriy Kobolev that he was suspected of embezzling over 229 million hryvnias. The investigation established that in May 2018, Kobolev, contrary to the law, issued an order to reward the companyʼs employees, on the basis of which he was paid almost 261 million hryvnias for "extraordinary achievements" — this refers to the positive decision of the Stockholm Arbitration in the gas case of Ukraine against Russia.