Case description
Oleksii Alfimov, former investigator of the Prosecutor General's Office,was accused of seizing fuel cards during a search of the premises of the head of a village council in Cherkasy region. The statute of limitations in his case had expired, so Alfimov was exempted from punishment.
In lateJuly 2016, Alfimov and two witnesses searched the home of the head of the Svydyvok village council in Cherkasy region. The head of the village council was suspected of taking a bribe for the allocation of land. According to the investigation, Alfimov found and seized 22 scratch cards for Avias A-92 fuel, totaling 330 liters during the search.
Although these cards belonged to the village council, they were kept at the home of its head. Later, Alfimov and his wife used some of the cards at a Kyiv gas station for their own car.
Initially, his actions were classified under Article 191, part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misappropriation, embezzlement, or conversion of property by malversation). However, the HACC acquitted Alfimov—the judges disagreed with the qualification of the prosecution, noting instead that Alfimov's actions could be considered theft or robbery.
Moreover, the available evidence and witnesses' testimony about the search of the village council head did not convince the judges that Alfimov took the scratch cards, as it is unknown whether the cards seized from the ex-investigator matched those belonging to the village council. The records from the gas station also raised doubts about their authenticity.
The appellate instance, in turn, heard the case under Article 185, part 1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (theft). The panel of judges concluded that Alfimov was guilty, but released him from a six-month arrest due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
The cassation proceedings are ongoing.
