Court denies former head of Odesa customs office return to his post

The Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal refused to satisfy the complaint filed by the lawyers of former Odesa Customs head Mykhailo Hribanov.

According to the Center for Public Investigations, according to the court's ruling, the former customs chief's lawyers complained against the decision of the Chernihiv District Administrative Court, which dismissed Mykhailo Hribanov's lawsuit against his dismissal.

He was dismissed because he failed to meet the planned revenues during his tenure at the customs office, which caused almost UAH 4 billion in losses to the Ukrainian budget. The official himself insisted that at the time he was on probation and had not been assigned any tasks for the probationary period, key indicators determined in view of the official duties of a civil servant, as well as his compliance with the general rules of ethical behavior and the requirements of the legislation on corruption prevention.

He also insisted that the notice of dismissal did not contain any circumstances to which the State Customs Service would attribute the fact of failure to fulfill the tasks and key indicators. And that the introduction of quarantine in most European and Asian countries caused a decline in business and economic activity, which affected the performance of the Odesa Customs of the State Customs Service. However, he did not convince the court.

Mykhailo Hrybanov was appointed to the position on March 5, 2020, with a probationary period of 3 months. In May of the same year, the management of the State Customs Service concluded that he was not suitable for the position. At that time, he tried to sue the management of the State Customs Service of Ukraine to prohibit them from dismissing him.

He planned to file a lawsuit to recognize the actions of the State Customs Service of Ukraine in issuing a warning on May 15, 2020, to dismiss him from the position of the Head of Odesa Customs of the State Customs Service due to the finding of incompatibility with his position as unlawful and to oblige the State Customs Service of Ukraine to withdraw the warning. However, the court refused to do so.

Кирило Бойко