The court ordered the State Bureau of Investigation to open criminal proceedings regarding the actions of ARMA

On March 23, 2026, the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv in case No. 757/15000/26-k satisfied the complaint about the inaction of the territorial department of the State Bureau of Investigation and ordered to enter information into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations regarding a possible criminal offense by ARMA.

As the court established, despite the requirements of Article 214 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, the law enforcement agency failed to fulfill its obligation to enter information into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations within 24 hours after receiving the report of the crime. The appeal was sent back in March 2026, but the applicant did not receive any information about the start of the investigation.

Grounds for the appeal

The reason for filing the application was ARMA’s failure to comply with court decisions and the failure to return the seized property to the rightful owner. According to the applicant, the relevant judicial acts were systematically ignored by the agency, despite the change in management.

As of the time of the court’s consideration of the complaint, the pre-trial investigation had not even been initiated. At the same time, the State Bureau of Investigation did not provide any evidence of the fulfillment of its procedural obligations, and its representative did not appear at the court hearing.

Court’s position

Having assessed the circumstances of the case, the court concluded that the investigative body had acted unlawfully and ordered it to enter the relevant information into the ERDR.

In fact, the court confirmed the mandatory observance of procedural guarantees and the impossibility of ignoring statements about criminal offenses by law enforcement agencies.

Potential liability

Currently, the duties of the Head of ARMA are performed by Yaroslav Maksymenko. If the facts of non-compliance with court decisions are confirmed, the responsible persons may face criminal liability.

In particular, the Criminal Code of Ukraine provides for a penalty of imprisonment for a term of three to eight years with possible deprivation of the right to hold certain positions in the event of intentional non-compliance with a court decision by an official.