Kyiv, Ukraine. A Ukrainian court has concluded criminal proceedings against former Ukrainian Member of Parliament Oleksandr Hranovskyi, who had been accused of embezzling £1.6 million from the state-owned Odesa Portside Plant in 2015, according to the Cyprus Democratic Lawyers Association.
The court exempted Hranovskyi from criminal liability after determining that the statutory time limit for prosecuting the case had expired.
Case allegations and ruling
According to the case file cited by the CDLA, Ukrainian authorities alleged that Hranovskyi and his associates used an intermediary company to carry out the embezzlement.
Hranovskyi denied the allegations from the outset, saying the evidence against him had been fabricated and maintaining his innocence, the association said.
During the proceedings, prosecutors reclassified the charges against Hranovskyi to a lesser offence under Ukrainian law, according to the CDLA.
The court found that the applicable time limit had expired and applied a provision of Ukrainian law exempting defendants from criminal liability after that period lapses, bringing the domestic proceedings to a final conclusion, the association said.
International cooperation concerns
The CDLA said the case had drawn attention from the Cypriot and wider European legal community, describing it as an example of potential risks linked to the misuse of international criminal cooperation mechanisms in the context of transnational repression.
It said the Council of Europe had also examined risks associated with the use of extradition requests and judicial cooperation for political purposes.
The association said it had previously raised concerns over separate extradition proceedings involving Hranovskyi in the United Kingdom.
The CDLA said respect for the rule of law, judicial independence and fair-trial guarantees was a fundamental prerequisite for international criminal cooperation. It added that cases raising concerns about judicial independence and the administration of justice should be examined in line with standards under the European Convention on Human Rights.