At the end of April, our client had a surprise visit from 8 men with automatic rifles, 4 operatives, an investigator and a prosecutor. They took UAH 1.3 million, USD 20,000, seals and computers, stashed documents in 9 bags and left at 2 a.m., leaving behind a record of the search.

2 days later our client’s shipments, already loaded on ships, were seized in seaports. As a result, operations of 6 manufacturers and exporters of metal and lumber had been completely frozen for several weeks.

ILF lawyers Olena Petrova and Andrey Poddymai conducted their own investigation, collected evidence and developed a strategy to recover unlawfully seized cash and property.

The lawyers’ plan was twofold: they appealed against the seizure of cash and property and also went to the trial court with separate applications on behalf of the owners demanding to cancel the seizure of specific objects, documents and sums of money.

In the end, the Appellate Court of Kyiv deemed the actions of the police unlawful and the prosecutor’s arguments invalid, and ruled to return the cash and property. Meanwhile ILF lawyers were providing legal support to our client's employees who had to face interrogations every day. ILF managed to prove the groundlessness of any suspicions regarding the company's chief accountant.

Thus, in 2 months our client's business started working again. Currently he continues working with foreign partners and creating new employment opportunities.