A 14-hour hearing closed early Tuesday when the Kiev district court ruled to send Roman Nasirov, chief of the Ukrainian Fiscal Service, to pre-trial detention for two months. Nasirov will be granted house arrest if he pays USD 3.7 million, an unheard-of bail in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian government suspended Nasirov pending an investigation, alleging that the tax chief defrauded the state of 2 billion hryvnias (USD 74 million).
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau said Nasirov signed off on grace periods for a number of taxpayers including companies linked to a former lawmaker who fled abroad last year while facing a corruption investigation.