The Pechersk Court's landmark decision to drop criminal charges against the wife of former MP Alexander Shepelev has been overturned. Her property, an administrative building in the center of the capital, has been seized again, the First Instance reports.
Journalists note that the Kyiv Court of Appeal thus granted the Prosecutor General's Office's motion, which insisted on Galina Shepeleva's guilt.
As previously reported by Prokurorskaya Pravda, in late September, Kyiv's Pechersky Court dropped charges against her in a criminal case involving the embezzlement of funds from Rodovid Bank, sparking protests. The judge explained his position by saying that the investigation had failed to establish the businesswoman's involvement in the crime. At the same time, the seizure of her property—a 5225-square-meter building at 4 Rylsky Lane—was lifted.
On October 10, the Kyiv Court of Appeals ruled the first-instance decision unlawful, and the judge who ordered Shepeleva's release was summoned to the Prosecutor General's Office. Following this, the former MP's wife was returned to the charges of embezzlement of bank funds, and her property was again seized.
As a reminder, Rodovid Bank, nationalized in 2009, rented space in an administrative building near Sofiyska Square for several years. But only on paper. The lease agreement was signed between the financial institution and the European Bank for Rational Financing, controlled by the Shepelev family, back in the mid-2000s. Due to renovations, occupancy was delayed. Four years ago, Party of Regions MP Yuriy Ivanyushchenko set up his office in the administrative center.
The couple's real estate and other property, worth more than 85 million hryvnias, had previously been seized.
Shepelev himself fled the country on July 6. At the time of his escape, he was under investigation. The Prosecutor General's Office suspects him of involvement in the murder of Avtokrazbank Supervisory Board Chairman Sergei Kirichenko and the attempted murder of a former Rodovid Bank shareholder. Sergei Dyadechko. In addition, he and his wife were involved in a case involving the embezzlement of funds from Rodovid Bank.
Shepelev denied the charges against him, but after criminal cases were opened, he fled to Hungary. A year ago, law enforcement authorities in Hungary detained him at the request of their Ukrainian counterparts. This year, he was returned to Hungary. He remained in the Lukyanivske pretrial detention center until mid-summer, when he secured a transfer to an emergency hospital, complaining of high blood pressure. It was from there that he escaped.
While her husband is on the run, Galina Shepeleva awaits the results of the investigation into her criminal case in a pretrial detention facility.
Prosecutor's Truth
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