Case description
On March 11, 2024, the HACC sent Ruslan Bandurystyi to prison for 5 years. The former insolvency officer responsible for the reorganization of SE National Cinematheque of Ukraine, together with his accomplices, planned to misappropriate the real estate of the state-owned enterprise worth almost UAH 42 million. He pleaded guilty and concluded a plea deal with the SAPO prosecutor.
Bandurystyi was appointed insolvency officer during the property disposal and rehabilitation procedure of the National Cinematheque of Ukraine in March 2019. Contrary to the law and in collusion with others, Bandurystyi planned to sell 14 of the 18 buildings that were part of the film production complex, along with the land plots under them. High-rise buildings were to be built there.
His tasks included preparing the “necessary” rehabilitation plan, creating conditions for increasing the company’s accounts payable and selling the real estate of SE National Cinematheque of Ukraine to companies controlled by his accomplices.
In late July 2020, the Bankruptcy & Liquidation portal published an article about Bandurystyi and his “brilliant implementation of the plan to save the state-owned enterprise,” which neither the Ministry of Culture nor the National Police were happy about. And, to quote the publication, “the most painful thing for Mr. Bandurystyi in this story was that he made a lot of efforts to save the enterprise, and in return got criminal cases opened against him and faced corruption charges.”
Almost 5 years after his appointment as insolvency officer, Bandurystyi pleaded guilty to abuse of his powers and forgery of documents to obtain an improper advantage of almost UAH 42 million and provided incriminating evidence against his accomplices.
Bandurystyi was charged with Article 365-2, part 3 and Article 366, part 1 of the CCU. The HACC sent Bandurystyi to prison for 5 years and prohibited him from engaging in activities in the field of public services for 1.5 years. Bandurystyi avoided the liability for forgery in office since the statute of limitations had expired.
