The judge of the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court who refused to order the arrest of Kolomoisky’s assets has alleged that he faced pressure from Vitaliy Shabunin, the head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center

Today, Ukraine’s Supreme Anti-Corruption Court decided not to arrest the assets of businessman Igor Kolomoisky, who was facing suspicion raised by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine.

The decision was made by Judge Oleg Tkachenko of the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court, who has been accused by Vitaliy Shabunin, the head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, and other activists of favoring Igor Kolomoisky.

According to Shabunin, Tkachenko filed a complaint against him with the High Council of Justice and the Office of the Prosecutor General regarding the pressure being exerted.

A source within legal circles informed Ukrainian journalists that constant “attacks” on judges by Shabunin and other activists are causing increasing outrage.

“In practice, there is consistent pressure on judges in favor of the interests of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and other entities or individuals. Any decision that activists disagree with is interpreted as unlawful and corrupt. It has reached the point where some activists directly state that the courts ‘do not want to execute NABU’s motions.’ Although the courts are not obligated to ‘execute’ any motions, they can either grant or deny them,” the source stated.

What’s interesting is that the judges of the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine, who are currently being targeted by activists, were selected with the involvement of international partners and these very activists. It was intended that such a procedure would ensure the independence of the judges. However, when judges make decisions that activists do not like, these activists immediately forget about the judges’ independence,” the source added.

As a reminder, as reported by the Anti-Corruption Action Center, the issue of a full asset freeze for Kolomoisky was supposed to be considered by an investigative judge of the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court.

“However, he did not do so within 48 hours. The motion was pending before Judge Tkachenko for over 10 days. As a result, he simply closed the case and did not even consider the detectives’ motion,” activists stated.