Сourt makes NABU launch investigation against customs head Nefyodov: his reaction

High Anti-Corruption Court has ruled that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) should launch a pretrial investigation against the head of the State Customs Service Maksym Nefyodov regarding possible customs violations.

The court decision dated February 11 was published on the website of the Unified State Register of Court Decisions. It states that violations by the head of customs caused over UAH 40 million damage to the state.

On January 23, a citizen, whose name was not disclosed, filed a claim with NABU alleging that a group of individuals led by Nefyodov “had systematically taken bribes for delivering non-certified panels to Ukrainian market on the basis of a fictitious audit of suppliers, as a result of such actions the state suffered more than UAH 40 million damage.”

The court decision says that having registered the claim, NABU refused to open criminal proceedings on the basis of the information contained in it, after which the applicant appealed to the High Anti-Corruption Court whose investigating judge, having examined the materials of the complaint, decided to satisfy the complaint’s claim on the following grounds.

“Given the fact that NABU detectives shall carry out a pre-trial investigation into the crimes as mentioned by the applicant, the investigating judge had reason to consider that NABU’s authorized persons had been inactive and failed to enter information about the criminal offense to the Unified State Register of Pretrial Investigations within 24 hours after receiving a claim,” the court emphasized.

In addition, the investigating judge could not verify the circumstances of the violations indicated by the citizen in the claim, but considered them to be objective and falling within NABU’s jurisdiction, therefore, he obliged the Bureau to consider them as part of the pretrial investigation.

This was followed by the reaction of the head of the Customs Service Maksym Nefyodov, who claims that the decision of the High Anti-Corruption Court is nothing but a black PR.

“I am very disappointed over with this black PR. How do I know what is written there [claim to the High Anti-Corruption Court – ed.]? Neither the Ministry of Economy, nor I personally involved in any audits of plants,” UNIAN quoted Nefyodov, as saying.

Nefyodov: Сustoms service transfers about UAH 1 bln to state budget daily.