Appeals court upholds Nasirov's arrest, 100M hryvnia bail unchanged

The Kyiv Court of Appeal has ruled to leave suspended State Fiscal Service chief Roman Nasirov in custody.

A Censor.NET correspondent reports from the courtroom.

The decision was taken on Monday, March 13. The motions of neither lawyers, demanding to release Nasirov, nor the prosecution, asking to raise the amount of bail up to 2 billion hryvnia, have been granted.

The full text of the ruling will be published on March 20.

March 2, NABU and SAP agents arrived at Feofania hospital to serve an indictment for criminal offence against Ukraine's chief taxman Roman Nasirov. The doctors barred the investigators and prosecutor from entering the ward saying Nasirov had allegedly suffered a heart attack. SAP head Nazar Kholodnytskyi said the decision to launch procedural activities into the case was made due to possible Nasirov's departure abroad and elimination of evidence. A video footage of Nasirov being served an indictment in Feofania hospital has been posted online.

SAP accuses Nasirov of taking unreasonable decisions on restructuring rental fees for the extraction of minerals, which helped Ukraine's fugitive MP Oleksandr Onyshchenko implement corruption schemes he is being charged with. This had led to 2 billion hryvnia damage to the state ($74 million). Onyshchenko said the investigation would "prove nothing: there were no money in my relations with Nasirov."

Later, NABU said it was preparing a bail hearing inquiry regarding Nasirov. The detainee's lawyers say that Nasirov's health deteriorated and he underwent another surgery. SAP head Kholodnytskyi said he doubted Nasirov's diagnosis.

March 3, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine suspended Nasirov from office pending investigation. Myroslav Prodan was appointed acting head of the State Fiscal Service.

Nasirov said in an interview he had cooperated with the investigation since mid-2016.

Tax and customs service chief Roman Nasirov was first taken to the courtroom on March 4.

However, after he was examined by a doctor, the judge ruled to postpone the meeting to choose a preventive measure against Nasirov until the next day. On March 5, after the judge refused to adjourn the session again, the defense demanded his recusal, and the hearing halted.

Meanwhile, Automaidan activists gathered outside the courthouse to stay overnight and prevent Nasirov's possible escape. In the morning, more activists began to arrive at the court building.

After the session started, the court denied the disqualification of the judge and rejected a forensic examination of Nasirov's state. During the meeting it became known that Nasirov has the citizenship of Great Britain and Hungary.

As a result, after 3 a.m. on March 7, Judge of the Solomianskyi district court of Kyiv Oleksandr Bobrovnyk, partially granted the motion of the prosecution, having remanded Nasirov in a 60-day custody, until April 30, 2017, with the possibility to be released on a 100 million hryvnia bail. It should be noted that the prosecution wanted the bail to be set at 2 billion hryvnia. Ex-deputy prosecutor general David Sakvarelidze said at the rally outside the courthouse that the Presidential Administration required the court to reduce Nasirov's bail to 10 million hryvnia. In turn, Poroshenko said he was not advised on the progress in the proceeding against Nasirov.

Consideration of the appeal against Nasirov's arrest was scheduled for March 13.