Viktor Yanukovych / REUTERS

The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) on October 26 dismissed a motion filed by anti-corruption prosecutors seeking a measure of restraint for former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, who is suspected of illegally taking possession of the state-owned Mezhyhirya Residence.

This was reported by the press service of the Specialized Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO).

"The HACC's investigating judge refused to satisfy the motion of a NABU [National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine] detective lodged with the court in June this year after approval by the SAPO prosecutor. [The motion seeks] a preventive measure in the form of detention in custody for the former head of state (2010-2014), suspected of illegally taking over the Mezhyhirya Residence," it said.

The SAPO prosecutor disagreed with the court ruling and will file an appeal.

Information about the appeal will be provided additionally, it said.

Mezhyhirya Residence: In brief

  • The property of Mezhyhirya in Kyiv region's Vyshgorod district, where Yanukovych lived from 2010 to 2014, was seized on July 13, 2015, by the Kyiv-based Pechersky district court (the decision was endorsed by the Kyiv appeals court on August 10, 2015).
  • At the beginning of July 2018, the Mezhyhirya Residence was transferred to the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA).