HCAC set bail of UAH 230 million for Andriy Kobolev in the case of Naftogaz awards

The Appellate Chamber of the Higher Anti-Corruption Court (HCAC) satisfied the appeal of the SAPO prosecutors and annulled the previous decision of the HCAC. By the appellate decision, Andriy Kobolev was assigned bail in the amount of UAH 230 million. Andriy Kobolev reported this on Facebook.

As reported by ExPro, NABU handed the ex-head of Naftogaz Kobolev suspicion due to illegal bonuses. It was about the suspicion of taking over UAH 229 million in 2018.

The investigation established that in May 2018, head Kobolev, contrary to the requirements of the law, issued an order to reward the company's employees, on the basis of which he was paid almost UAH 261 million (equivalent to $10 million) for extraordinary achievements. It is about a positive decision regarding the contract for the purchase and sale of natural gas in 2009-2019.

NABU said this amount significantly exceeded the normatively determined amounts of such payments (UAH 37.48 million). In addition, for the same achievements, ex-service companies paid a bonus of UAH 12.49 million in 2017.

In general, during 2018, according to the investigation, more than UAH 229.25 million was illegally paid to the suspect at the expense of the company (the difference between the actually paid premium and its maximum permissible amount).

Kobolev rejects the accusations and notes that he acted only within the framework of the law.

One may remind, NaftoRynok investigator Volodymyr Dolnyk to analyze in detail the receipt of rewards by former members of the Supervisory Board of Naftogaz in the author's material "Was there corruption in the Supervisory Board of Naftogaz?"