ILI Head on Kyiv 24 on the “Carthage” Case: It Is Important Not Only to Dismiss Officials but Also to Freeze Their Assets
In the “Carthage” case, it is important not to limit measures to dismissing those involved from their positions, but also to ensure that their assets are frozen and illegally acquired property is subsequently recovered. Tetiana Khutor, Head of the Institute of Legislative Ideas, said this on Kyiv 24, commenting on new details of the NABU investigation.
“At the same time, Ukraine needs mechanisms for pre-trial asset confiscation so that we do not have to wait years for the property to be recovered,” the expert said.
According to her, the dismissal of an official is only the first step. It is equally important to establish whether the person has remained in Ukraine and whether they are still able to use their assets, funds and real estate.
“It is already a victory if all the assets and accounts are frozen and the person can no longer use them,” Tetiana Khutor explained.
The expert noted that the ILI had checked the court register for information on the freezing of assets belonging to those involved in the “Carthage” case. Although no public information on this is currently available, she assumes that NABU and SAPO may have applied to the court to freeze the assets.
“The most important thing is to block the assets. I think the anti-corruption bodies have already taken care of this, but, of course, we should ask them directly about it,” the ILI Head said.
She also drew attention to the amount of bail set in the case. The High Anti-Corruption Court generally sets lower amounts than those requested by SAPO, but they still remain substantial.
“A lot can be manipulated, but 20 million hryvnias is not an easy amount to find in legitimate funds, especially given what the organizers of the corruption scheme were involved in,” Tetiana Khutor emphasized.
At the same time, the ILI Head stressed that society needs to think beyond individual criminal proceedings and consider how to prevent similar cases in the future. This requires strong anti-corruption institutions and effective asset recovery mechanisms.
“The Institute of Legislative Ideas emphasizes the need to have tools for confiscating assets before a criminal conviction takes legal effect. So that society does not have to wait 5, 10 or 15 years before all the cars, real estate, buildings and funds acquired without any lawful or legitimate grounds can be recovered in favor of the state,” Tetiana Khutor concluded.
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