The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has chosen a preventive measure in the form of detention for the former deputy head of the Office of the President (OP) of Ukraine and his relative.
This was reported by the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office (SAPO).
SAPO does not name the suspects, but the details of the case indicate that it concerns Rostyslav Shurma and his brother Oleh, whom the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine put on the wanted list in February.
After the suspects are detained and brought to court, the judge will decide whether to apply a preventive measure.
Rostyslav Shurma, who is currently in Germany, has already reacted to the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice and called it “illegal, politically motivated, and adopted in violation of basic legal procedures”. He does not plead guilty, but is ready to cooperate with the investigation.
"Iʼll put it simply: this decision does not prove my guilt. And even more so, it does not mean that the case has become stronger on the merits. In fact, the prosecution needed exactly such a procedural step to move on to the next stage — an international wanted list, requests for my detention, and a further attempt at extradition," the former deputy head of the OP wrote on social media.
What is Rostyslav Shurm suspected of?
According to the investigation, in 2019-2020, Rostyslav Shurma, together with his brother, began to control a number of enterprises that produced electricity from alternative sources.
In the territory of Vasylivka district of the Zaporizhzhia region, they built solar power plants with a total capacity of about 60 MW and concluded contracts with the State Enterprise "Guaranteed Buyer" to sell electricity at a "green" tariff. After Russiaʼs invasion and occupation of part of the region, these plants lost contact with the Ukrainian power system, they were damaged, and the personnel were evacuated.
However, the companies associated with them claimed to produce electricity and received money for it, although in reality it was not supplied to the grid. According to the investigation, this scheme caused losses to the state of UAH 141.3 million.
NABU says it has launched an investigation based on the materials of the Bihus.Info investigation. Journalists found out back in 2023 that the co-owner of these solar power plants under Russian occupation is a close associate of Shurma. He stated that the investigation is “manipulative and false”.
In September 2024, Shurma was dismissed from the position of Deputy Head of the Presidentʼs Office, which he had held since November 2021.
Rostyslav Shurma is currently abroad. In July of this year, Bavarian investigators searched his home in Germany. In December, he was dismissed from the supervisory board of “Naftogaz”.
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