Verdict in case against financial watchdog ex-head Volha may be announced in May, says lawyer
Kyiv, March 1 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Lawyer of former Head of the State Commission for Financial Services Markets Regulation Vasyl Volha, Yevhen Solodko, has forecast that the court might announce a verdict on the criminal case against Volha no sooner than May 2012.
"If I could forecast, I would say it would be no sooner than May," Solodko said at a press conference hosted by Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.
According to him, there are 27 witnesses in the Volha case, who are mainly employees of the State Commission for Financial Services Markets Regulation.
"The consideration of the case in court will depend on the attendance of witnesses," the lawyer said.
Solodko noted that the criminal case in which Volha is accused of attempting to receive an especially large bribe from Head of the First Credit Association Andriy Azarov, is being considered by Kyiv's Shevchenkivsky District Court.
According to the lawyer, while investigating into the case, the investigation was guided by circumstances "not from a legal level."
Volha's defence lawyer noted that when Volha was appointed as head of the State Commission for Financial Services Markets Regulation the sphere of credit cooperation faced a difficult situation with returning deposits to citizens.
"Right after his appointment in March 2010, Volha raised the issue of compensation for the losses of citizens… Managers of those credit unions that used fraudulent schemes opposed Volha's initiative to return losses to depositors," the lawyers said.
Solodko also said that these managers started a campaign in the press to discredit Volha.
"The discrediting campaign was lead by the head of the biggest credit organization in Ukraine, the First Credit Association, Andriy Azarov. We think that the accusatory inclination of the investigation is caused by the pressure of this huge shadow capital on the law enforcement system," the lawyer said.
"This entire bribe story was invented to remove Volha from the post of the commission's chairman," he added.
As reported, a criminal case was opened against Volha under Article 368 of the Criminal Code on suspicion of receiving a $500,000 bribe under preliminary collusion with a group of individuals.
Volha was detained on July 19 and placed in custody on July 20.
On July 25, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych dismissed Volha as head of the State Commission for the Regulation of Financial Services Markets "due to the violation of the oath of a civil servant."
In September 2011, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office opened another criminal case against Volha, for embezzlement, as in 2010 his driver received the same wage as a chief specialist of a department of the State Commission for the Regulation of the Financial Services Markets.