Person will be tried for piracy for first time in Ukraine - Prosecutor General's Office

A person will be tried for piracy for the first time in Ukraine, the Prosecutor General's Office has reported.

According to the report, the Prosecutor General's Office forwarded an indictment to court against a citizen of Ukraine for piracy and the forgery of an official document and its use (Part 1 of Article 446, Part 5 of Article 27, Part 3 of Article 358, and Part 4 of Article 358 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The investigation established that in July 2020, a citizen of Ukraine, in order to obtain $500,000 in the neutral waters of the western part of the Indian Ocean, using an unarmed vessel of a foreign security company, seized another vessel flying the flag of the Marshall Islands. He also robbed the crew, threatening violence and using firearms. After receiving the money, he unblocked the work of the ship.

In addition, to commit this crime and be employed by a foreign security company, the citizen forged a military ID card on him allegedly being an officer of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The suspect was detained and remanded in custody without the right to post bail.

The pretrial investigation into the criminal proceedings was carried out by investigators from the SBU's Main Investigation Department. Public prosecution will be supported by prosecutors from the Prosecutor General's Office.

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