Yanukovych’s ex-energy minister’s father wanted to return 48 kg of gold and $4.8 million in court: what the court ruled
24 November 15:09
The Vyshhorod District Court of Kyiv Region has not returned gold bars and dollar cash to the father of former Energy Minister Eduard Stavytsky in connection with their sale.
This was reported by Court Reporter, citing a ruling of November 11, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
In 2014, after Stavytsky’s escape, law enforcement officers seized 48 kilograms of gold, $4.8 million, and 7.5 thousand euros from the apartment used by his family.
The gold and cash were stored as material evidence at Ukreximbank. However, on March 27, 2022, by the decision of the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, they were seized by the state to ensure defense capability.
The State Storage of Precious Metals and Precious Stones sold the gold to the National Bank. Part of the bullion was included in the gold and foreign exchange reserve and is stored at the National Bank of Ukraine. The rest of the gold was melted down and used to make blanks for precious metal coins. The state budget received a total of UAH 83 million from the sale of Stavytskyi’s gold.
In June 2024, the Vyshhorod District Court of Kyiv Region closed the case against Eduard Stavytskyi for the seizure of the facilities of the Pushcha-Vodytsia recreation complex in the Mezhyhiria tract, where former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych had set up his residence, due to the statute of limitations.
For the last 10 years, Eduard Stavytsky was tried in absentia and was put on the wanted list. But when the issue of exemption from criminal liability arose due to the statute of limitations, Stavytskyy made a video call to the court.
After the case was closed, the former official’s father, Anatolii Stavytskyi, initiated the return of his property.
During the consideration of this motion, the prosecutor said that the bullion and currency had no traces of a crime, so they had not been arrested all these years.
Analyzing the situation, the court noted that in the case of exemption from criminal liability, special confiscation of property does not apply.
Under martial law in Ukraine,the state may forcibly seize (requisition) property from the owner with the state’s obligation to reimburse its value. However, these provisions of the law do not apply to money as property. Under martial law, the legislator did not provide for the confiscation of money for defense purposes by decision of the military command.
The Vyshhorod District Court refused to return the cash and gold bars to Stavytskyi’s father, citing the fact that these pieces of evidence had not been preserved.
At the same time, the court noted that issues related to the return or reimbursement of the sold property to the owner could be resolved in civil proceedings.
