The Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has upheld a lower court ruling applying a preventive measure of detention with a bail alternative of UAH 20 million to Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko, a defendant in the "Carthage" case.
"The panel of judges of the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court… has ruled: to reject the appeals filed by defense counsel for suspect Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko… and to leave the ruling of the HACC investigating judge unchanged," the Appeals Chamber's ruling said.
This ruling is not subject to appeal.
As previously reported, Ivakhnenko features in the "Carthage" case materials under the codename "Muza" and is the domestic partner of a key defendant in the case — Serhiy Kropyva, deputy head of the Prosecutor General's Office's Department of International Cooperation.
At the HACC hearing, Ivakhnenko acknowledged being acquainted with Kropyva but did not clarify the nature of their relationship. The suspect also said she was detained near the railway station in Lviv. She told the court she was "traveling for vacation."
On Sept 7, the HACC set a preventive measure for Ivakhnenko of detention with a bail alternative of UAH 20 million.
The day before, on Sept 6, the HACC set a preventive measure for Kropyva of detention with the possibility of posting bail of UAH 120 million. As of today, the HACC Appeals Chamber has not yet ruled on the appeal against that decision.
NABU and SAPO exposed five members of a criminal organization led by an official of the Prosecutor General's Office who systematically received illicit benefits for covering up a network of fraudulent call centers and legalized more than UAH 42 million through the purchase of real estate, including apartments in the Carpathians, jewelry, and placing funds in relatives' accounts. For its part, the Prosecutor General's Office also said it intended to assist the investigation and announced the suspension of the individual involved from his official duties.
Amid the scandal over possible involvement in the "Carthage" case, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko submitted his resignation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suspended him from his post, and on Sept 15 the Verkhovna Rada approved Kravchenko's dismissal. In covert investigative materials, Kropyva features as a trusted associate of Kravchenko. According to the investigation, he coordinated household matters and renovations at Kravchenko's home.
Kravchenko has not been notified of suspicion at this time.
At the same time, after submitting his resignation, on Sept 14 Kravchenko signed a notice of suspicion against Semen Kryvonos, director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. In response, NABU and SAPO said they regarded this move as a continuation of a systematic attack on independent anti-corruption bodies.
The Prosecutor General's Office said on the evening of Sept 14 that no such suspicion notice existed.
Kravchenko, for his part, said he had left Ukraine, citing a business trip. According to Ukrainska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach, Kravchenko's wife left the country via Moldova on Sept 12.
According to Kravchenko, he traveled to France to take part in a hearing of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), but PACE said he and his representatives would not be taking part in the relevant session.
