Attack on Schemes’ journalists at "Ukreximbank": court closes proceedings
The Kyiv Court of Appeal has closed the proceedings in the case of the attack on Schemes' journalists at Ukreximbank in autumn 2021 due to the expiration of the terms of prosecution of former head of the state-owned bank Yevhen Metzher, former director of the bank security department Ihor Telbizov and former head of the internal security department Oleh Osipov.
This is reported by Radio Liberty, Censor.NET informs.
Thus, the panel of judges headed by Marharita Vasilieva granted the defendants' motion and released them from criminal liability. The journalists' lawyers said they planned to apply to the ECHR.
The panel decided to close the proceedings against Yevhen Metzher, Ihor Telbizov and Oleh Osipov.
"On the basis of Article 49 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, to release Metzher Y.V. from criminal liability under Article 171, paragraph 1, Article 171, paragraph 3, Telbizov I.H. and Osipov O. L. from criminal liability under Article 171, paragraph 1, Article 171, paragraph 2, Article 126, paragraph 1, due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for bringing to criminal liability," the judge read out the decision.
Attack on Schemes journalists in Ukreximbank
On 4 October 2021, Schemes' journalists came to interview Yevhen Metzher, the chairman of the board of state-owned "Ukreximbank". He didn't like one of the questions, and the cameraman's equipment was forcibly taken away and the recording deleted, while they tried not to let the journalists out of the office. "Ukreximbank now claims that the conversation with the journalists was just interrupted, and even then because it turned out that the media were trying to take possession of bank secrecy. Metzher himself calls what happened a "provocation". Meanwhile, the Prosecutor General's Office is investigating the case of obstruction of journalists' work, and the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech will also consider what has happened.
Later, Schemes was able to recover the deleted video and showed footage of the attack.
Ukreximbank's chairman of the board, Yevhen Metzher, wrote a letter of resignation for the duration of the investigation. Later, Ukreximbank's supervisory board suspended the chairman of the board. On 7 October, he and Pikalov, director of the bank's information policy department, were served with suspicion notices.
On 11 October 2021, the court imposed on Metzher a measure of restraint in the form of nightly house arrest.
On 14 September 2022, the court found Yevhen Metzher, the former Chairman of the Board of "Ukreximbank:, Ihor Telbizov, the former Director of the Banking Security Department, and Oleh Osipov, the Head of the Internal Security Department of Ukreximbank, guilty and fined each of them. Metzher was sentenced to a fine of UAH 3,400. The court fined Telbizov and Osipov UAH 1,700 each.
On 11 November 2022, Metzher was appointed Chairman of the Board of PJSC "Ukrainian Financial Housing Company" ("Ukrfinzhytlo").
