According to blogger Taras Zahorodnyi, SAPO Head Dmytro Klymenko could have met with HACC Head Vira Mykhailenko on November 8 to discuss the issue of concluding a plea deal with the investigation of former Ukreximbank Deputy Chairman Oleksandr Ihnatenko, who is accused in the Ukrgasbank case. Zahorodnyi writes about this in his blog on Censor. "On the day the agreement was approved, November 8, one of the heads of the SAPO, who looked very similar to SAPO Head Klymenko, came to the court and met with the leadership of the HACC, who looked very similar to HACC Head Mykhailenko, who was supposed to approve the agreement with Ihnatenko," Zahorodniy writes. According to the blogger, a representative of the High Anti-Corruption Court leadership did not want to approve the deal because Ihnatenko's position was unconvincing.
“The meeting was therefore postponed from November 7 to November 8. But someone really wanted to put Mr. Ihnatenko out of harm's way, and after SAPO officials arrived at the HACC, the relevant agreement was approved at the November 8 meeting. If this is the case, this is pressure on the judge, interference in the administration of justice, and extra-procedural exchanges between the court and the prosecution," the blogger explained. In his opinion, Ihnatenko's testimony could be used against former NBU Head Kyrylo Shevchenko, who is also a defendant in the Ukrgasbank case. 'Plea bargains have been initiated in this case. The most interesting of them is Oleksandr Inatenko, former Deputy Chairman of Ukrgasbank, who worked for Ukrgasbank and then held a similar position at Ukreximbank.
Ihnatenko is an ideal candidate to testify against Shevchenko. First, in terms of scale... Secondly, the former deputy of the famous Yevhen Metzher has many vulnerabilities that can be squeezed by the cold hands of detectives with a hot heart. From a Bentley bought with a modest salary of a civil servant to various interesting loans issued (and still issued) by the state bank," says Taras Zahorodniy. In his opinion, the anti-corruption authorities have become addicted to entering into classified agreements with the investigation, which discredits the anti-corruption vertical and allows criminals to avoid responsibility.
As an example, he cites the case of former Minister of Ecology Zlochevskyi, who was caught taking a record $6 million bribe and managed to avoid responsibility by making a deal with the investigation and a UAH 500 million donation to the army. And lawyer Oleh Horetskyi, who, along with former Supreme Court Chief Justice Kniaziev, was caught receiving $2.7 million. By court order, Horetskyi received a suspended sentence and was obliged to transfer UAH 21 million to the Army of Drones. "Why the hell are purely 'economic' corruption cases classified? The question is why the ‘anti-corruption vertical’ should do such a job," summarizes Taras Zahorodniy.