Prosecutor’s Office activated case regarding return of property to private entrepreneurs

Subject of complaint: Prosecutor’s Office #1 in Dnipro (PO#1)
Complaint in brief: In July 2016, the Complainants, a group of private entrepreneurs registered in Dnipro, lodged a complaint with the BOC regarding the failure of officials at the PO#1 in Dnipro to return the Complainants’ property, which had been seized in the course of investigative actions by police officers during a pre-trial criminal investigation. The Complainants’ attorney had appealed against the seizure to the Industrialniy District Court of Dnipro. In May 2016, the Industrialniy District Court had issued four rulings that voided the property seizure, but the enforcement of the ruling kept being delayed. 
Action taken: Having studied the matter, the BOC investigator addressed the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office with a recommendation to return the seized property to the Complainants based on the investigative judge’s rulings. The BOC investigator also brought up the case at meetings of expert groups involving the Prosecutor General’s Office and the BOC on September 23 and November 2.
Result achieved: As a result of BOC intervention, the Prosecutor’s Office of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast informed the BOC that some of the seized property had been successfully returned to the Complainants. The grounds for returning the rest of the property were being considered by an authorized court. Given the results so far and that fact that, according procedure, it could not continue investigating a case that was being heard in court, the BOC closed the case.