6 years in prison for Nasirov: The Appeal of the Supreme Court of Ukraine put an end to the “gas case”

The high-profile trial, which lasted almost nine years, ended with a guilty verdict

The Appellate Chamber of the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court has ruled in the case of the former head of the State Fiscal Service, Roman Nasirov, sentencing him to 6 years in prison.

The court partially satisfied the appeals and confirmed the former official’s guilt in abuse of office, which resulted in losses to the state in the amount of more than 2 billion UAH.

Appeal decision and the position of the accused

The case was considered by a panel of judges consisting of Daniyla Chornenko, Valeriy Chorn and Ihor Panaid. Following the results of the review, the verdict of the first instance court was upheld in terms of proven guilt, while the final sentence was changed.

During the court debates, Roman Nasirov insisted on the annulment of the verdict, calling it illegal, and asked to be found not guilty. At the same time, he noted that he felt guilty only before his family due to his long period of service and legal defense.

Nine years of consideration and the risk of expiration of the statute of limitations

This case became one of the longest in the field of anti-corruption justice in Ukraine – its consideration lasted almost nine years, of which about six were in the courts.

The verdict of the first instance court was adopted less than half a year before the expiration of the statute of limitations, which created additional pressure on the appellate court. The judges needed to complete the consideration in the shortest possible time – and they succeeded.

A test for the anti-corruption system

Experts note that this decision is important not only in the context of a specific case, but also as an indicator of the effectiveness of the entire anti-corruption infrastructure.

The creation of the High Anti-Corruption Court envisaged its ability to consider cases involving top officials and complex corruption crimes. The verdict in the Nasirov case was a kind of test of this ability.

Significance for the legal system

The decision demonstrates that even high-profile cases with long terms of consideration can be brought to a logical conclusion.

At the same time, it highlights a key challenge for justice — ensuring the efficiency of consideration without the risk of losing cases due to the expiration of procedural deadlines.