On August 3, the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine (HACC) ruled to detain former State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oleksandr Bankov. The court granted the prosecution's request but allowed for the possibility of replacing detention with a bail of 10 million hryvnias.
Embezzlement scheme
According to the investigation, Bankov is suspected of embezzling international aid allocated to Ukraine at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion. The investigation established that the official created an organized group together with the former head of the MFA apparatus, Ramiz Ramazanov, the founder of the public organization "Center for International Cooperation Assistance," Vladyslav Reznikov, and an accountant.
The main goal of this group was the misappropriation and legalization of charitable funds. The Prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) stated that the investigation revealed three specific episodes of criminal activity:
- Misappropriation of monetary contributions received from Japan;
- Fraud involving the Renew Democracy Initiative (RDI) fund;
- Legalization of funds obtained through illegal means.
Court hearing
During the hearing, the SAP prosecutor requested a preventive measure of detention with an alternative bail of 15 million hryvnias. The defense of the former official insisted on a softer preventive measure and also challenged the bail amount proposed by the prosecution, calling it excessively high. Ultimately, the court reduced the bail threshold to 10 million hryvnias.
