See a related photo gallery here.
The Kyiv Court of Appeals on March 13 left the bail set for State Fiscal Service Chief Roman Nasirov, a suspect in a corruption case, at 100 million ($3.7 million).
The decision was seen by about 200 protesters who came to the courthouse as a victory. They protested against a potential cut in the bail and the release of Nasirov, who was arrested by Kyiv’s Solomyansky Court on March 7.
Nasirov’s lawyers sought to cancel Nasirov’s bail and arrest, while the prosecutors demanded increasing the bail to Hr 2 billion ($74 million).
Ex-Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and reformist lawmaker Sergii Leshchenko had previously claimed that President Petro Poroshenko had instructed judges to cut the bail to Hr 10 million ($370,000). Poroshenko has denied involvement in the case.
Nasirov is suspected of illegally allowing participants of an alleged corrupt scheme at state gas producer Ukrgazvydobuvannya to delay tax payments, causing losses to the state of Hr 2 billion ($74 million).
Nasirov said on March 13 he was going back to Kyiv’s Lukyanivske detention center because he cannot post bail yet. Vitaly Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center’s executive board, told the Kyiv Post that Nasirov could afford to pay the sum but was still looking for a more clean and legitimate way to post bail, as opposed to paying money of dubious origin.
Nasirov’s lawyers argued during the March 13 hearing that there is no risk of Nasirov fleeing and described him as a perfect family man. They also claimed that the tax delays provided by Nasirov were legal.
The prosecutors said that the tax delays were illegal, enriched ex-lawmaker Oleksandr Onyshchenko’s gas firms and caused damage to the state.
They also said that the bail should be increased due to the extraordinary wealth shown in Nasirov’s asset declaration and his possible flight abroad due to his British and Hungarian passports, which violate the Ukrainian ban on double citizenship.
In his electronic declaration for 2016, Nasirov declared land plots with an area of 283,093 square meters, as well as $1.16 million, 450,000 euros and Hr 4.35 million in cash. He and his wife also declared five apartments and three houses.
He had also been criticized for failing to declare two luxury apartments in London.
Apparently reacting to the scandal around Nasirov’s triple citizenship, Poroshenko on March 13 submitted to parliament a bill to strip people with other countries’ passports of Ukrainian citizenship. This decision prompted speculation on whether Nasirov could be extradited to Great Britain or Hungary if he is deprived of his Ukrainian passport.
Some of the episodes prompted outbursts of laughter in the audience.
One of them came when Nasirov’s lawyers compared him to Jesus Christ and those who had demanded crucifying Christ to activists demanding punishment for Nasirov.
One of the lawyers was also ridiculed after he said “let’s recall ancient Rome again” and compared the National Anti-Corruption Bureau to Roman emperors who could decide on gladiators’ life and death by moving a finger.
The audience also laughed when Nasirov said had acquired land in Chernihiv Oblast because he had always dreamed of planting an apple garden.
During the previous hearings in the Nasirov case a week ago, it took about 500 protesters to block Kyiv’s Solomyansky Court building and make sure that he does not flee. The court dragged its feet on issuing an arrest warrant for three days before finally making a decision.
Poroshenko and his grey cardinal and lawmaker Oleksandr Hranovsky have been repeatedly accused of interfering in the case to save Nasirov, which they deny.
Out of the Kyiv Court of Appeals’ 35 judges handling criminal cases, only five were eligible for the automatic distribution of the March 13 appeal hearing, and all five were chosen. This prompted critics to suspect that the judges were handpicked for political reasons.
Fugitive lawmaker Onyshchenko, a suspect in the same corruption case that involves Nasirov, has claimed that Poroshenko instructed Nasirov to delay tax payments for Onyshchenko’s gas firms and used the unpaid tax money to finance Poroshenko’s political projects.
“Nasirov is a key suspect in a future case against Poroshenko,” civic activist Maxim Ivanyushchev said at the March 13 rally in front of the courthouse.
Poroshenko has repeatedly denied Onyshchenko’s allegations, dismissing them as a smear campaign orchestrated by the Kremlin.
