A resolution of Kyiv's Pechersky District Court dated February 15 on closing the criminal case involving Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine deputy Serhiy Leshchenko has entered into legal force, Leshchenko's lawyer Dmytro Hnenny has said.

"The illegal prosecution of Leshchenko pursuant to the protocol of the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP) has ended … The appeals court responsible for enforcing the law returned the appeal to Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) without review. The resolution is final and can not be appealed," Hnenny said on his Facebook page.

He added that he advised Leshchenko to decide whether to file a defamation suit to court "in connection with the improper steps" taken by NACP officials.

As earlier reported, as a result of a NACP check it was established that Leshchenko, who purchased a 192 square meters apartment for UAH 7,550,000 in a new building located in a historical quarter of Kyiv, received a "gift" in the form of a discount on the price of the flat from the construction company that built the building. Leshchenko was a parliament deputy when he bought the flat and subject to the Law on Preventing Corruption. Hence, he received a present worth more than 1,307 times the minimum wage (total value of the discount was UAH 1,801,648).

NACP reported that from November 30 Leshchenko refused to acquaint himself with the protocol of the administrative violation. On December 1, he was invited through the official NACP website to acquaint himself with the protocol and results of the agency's investigation.

On December 6, Leshchenko failed to appear at NACP offices to familiarize himself with the protocol.

Pechersky district court on February 16 closed the so-called "apartment case" due to the absence of a crime. Prosecutors then vowed to appeal the ruling.