Kyiv Court Approves In‑Absentia Probe of Oligarch Kostiantyn Zhevago in $113 Million Bank Case

Overview

• Pechersky District Court in Kyiv authorized a special pre‑trial investigation, requested by prosecutors, in the case tied to alleged embezzlement from Bank Finance and Credit that reporting identifies with former MP and bank beneficiary Kostiantyn Zhevago.
• A special in‑absentia investigation allows investigators to proceed when a suspect is outside the country, which authorities say applies here, while Zhevago’s lawyers argue he has cooperated and have turned to the European Court of Human Rights.
• Prosecutors allege that between 2007 and 2015 the bank’s funds on correspondent accounts abroad were pledged to back a credit line for an offshore company under Zhevago’s control, and that $113 million was debited after the loan went unpaid.
• Investigators say they have frozen assets linked to the suspect, including $158 million in a Swiss account, 49 resident companies whose assets were handed to Ukraine’s asset manager ARMA, and corporate rights in 19 foreign companies.
• In a separate case, Ukrainian investigators delivered a notice of suspicion to Zhevago in France and questioned him at the National Office for the Fight Against Fraud, following earlier French detention in 2022, release on €1 million bail, and a rejected extradition request.