A company with foreign investments, a fuel distributor in Ukraine, faced significant challenges within a criminal investigation. During the lengthy pre-trial investigation initiated by the Bureau of Economic Security (BEB) against the company, it encountered several procedural violations by the pre-trial investigation body. In particular, BEB detectives failed for months to comply with about a dozen of investigative judges’ rulings, which required them to reconsider the company’s petition for conducting investigative (search) and procedural actions.
Due to this situation, the company decided to seek assistance from the Business Ombudsman Council (BOC). BOC sent an official letter to the Prosecutor General’s Office and BEB, drawing their attention to the fact that BEB detectives had not responded promptly to the company’s requests.
The BOC’s intervention yielded swift results. Within a few days after the Council’s involvement, the company’s lawyers received several responses in the form of letters and rulings following the review of previously submitted applications. Although not all responses fully satisfied the company, the mere fact of communication improvement was perceived as a significant progress.
Moreover, the BOC’s attention to the case resulted in significant changes in the investigation process. Two months after the Council’s intervention, a senior BEB detective closed one of the criminal case episodes due to absence of a crime in the actions of the company’s management.
Representatives of the company noted that it was the Business Ombudsman Council’s assistance that contributed to improved communication with BEB, accelerated the consideration of their applications, which led to positive changes in the pre-trial investigation of criminal proceedings.
