Kobolev’s case: VAKS recognized the suspicion of the former head of “Naftogaz” as unfounded
[ad_1]
The judge of the High Anti-corruption Court found the former chairman of the board of Naftogaz of Ukraine, Andrii Kobolev, to be unfounded regarding the illegality of receiving a bonus at the National Agricultural Company.
This was reported by lawyer Oleksiy Nosov on Facebook.
According to the decision on the refusal to choose a preventive measure, the court did not establish any risks of obstructing the criminal proceedings – all the risks listed by the prosecutor are neutralized by Kobolev’s voluntary return to Ukraine.
The court also established that the Supervisory Board consciously made the decision on the award and was not pressured by the official.
In addition, during the 5 years of investigation in the case, the members of the Supervisory Board, including its chairman, were not interrogated.
The judge also rejected the prosecutor’s statement that most members of the Supervisory Board are foreigners and therefore do not have knowledge of Ukrainian legislation, and recognized that this contradicts the idea of corporate governance in joint-stock companies and discredits the role of international experts in supervisory and control bodies.
In addition, the restrictions regarding the procedure for setting premiums by entities authorized to do so did not apply to Kobolev’s actions in the NAK.
“This resolution regulates restrictions on the procedure for setting premiums by entities authorized to do so, and not the procedure for initiating such a premium by other persons. And since setting the amount of premiums for the Chairman of the Board belongs to the exclusive competence of the Supervisory Board, there was no violation of the requirements of the resolution,” explained the human rights defender .
As for determining the amount of the premium, the judge found that it is the exclusive competence of the Supervisory Board
“The court did not establish that Andriy Kobolev has the authority to influence decision-making regarding the amount of his remuneration,” Nosov added.
The prosecutor’s office has already filed an appeal against the decision of the VAKS. It will be considered by the Appeals Chamber of the VAKS, which must make the final decision on the issue of choosing a preventive measure.
Read also: 12 years for the premium. How Kobolev ended up on the dock and why he returned to Ukraine
We remind you:
On Thursday, January 19, NABU and SAP reported the suspicion Andriy Kobolev, ex-head of Naftogaz Ukrainy – he is suspected of embezzling over UAH 229 million in the form of a bonus for winning the arbitration against Gazprom. Kobolev himself said that he returned to Ukraine and “is going to prove himself right.”
The investigation believes that in May 2018, Kobolev illegally received 261 million UAH (at that time – 10 million dollars) in bonuses for victory in the Stockholm arbitration against the Russian “Gazprom”. This amount significantly exceeded the normatively defined amounts of such payments in the amount of UAH 37.48 million, and for the victory in the arbitration, Kobolev already got premium in 2017 in the amount of UAH 12.49 million.
In 2018, the Supervisory Board of Naftogaz decided again pay out top management awards for winning the second part of the confrontation with Gazprom regarding the so-called “transit” contract. In the same year, the first part of these bonuses in the amount of $20.7 million was paid to Kobolev got UAH 261 million – about $9.5 million at that time.
The Supreme Anti-Corruption Court (VACS) left without satisfaction petition for the application of a preventive measure against the former head of “Naftogaz” Andriy Kobolev in the form of detention.
[ad_2]
Original Source Link
