Independent anti-corruption court begins to hear cases

The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine, an independent
judiciary created to meet IMF loan requirements, has begun to hear criminal
cases, its head, Olena Tanasevych, announced on Sept. 5.  More than 3,000
criminal cases are being transferred to the independent court from local
courts, of which 190 involve completed pre-trial investigations conducted by
the independent National Anti-Corruption Bureau, under the procedural guidance
of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine, the
pravda.com.ua news site reported, citing Tanasevych.

The specialized prosecutor’s office announced the same
day it has submitted its first criminal charges to the independent court. They
allege abuse of authority conducted by Andriy Rachkov, the former first deputy
general director of the State Titanium Research and Design Institute. He is
accused of illegally transferring USD 1.258 mln in 2012-2013 to offshore
accounts in the British Virgin Islands for work and services that were not
conducted. Rachkov has been under house arrest during pre-trial investigations.