Clients— employees of a state financial regulator responsible for regulatory andsupervisory functions within the banking sector.

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Matter— representation of the clients during the pre-trial investigation stage ofcriminal proceedings concerning regulatory decisions related to the provisionof financial support to a commercial bank.

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Aspart of the investigation, law enforcement authorities examined the lawfulnessof regulatory decision-making, the exercise of supervisory powers by theregulator's officials, and the potential liability of individuals involved inthe relevant decision-making processes.

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Thematter required a comprehensive analysis of criminal law, banking regulation,internal regulatory procedures, financial documentation, and collectivedecision-making mechanisms.

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Role — BLACK FORTpartners provided comprehensive legal representation to the clients throughoutthe pre-trial investigation, developing an individual defence strategy for eachclient based on their official responsibilities, actual involvement in therelevant regulatory processes, and the limits of personal criminal liability.

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Theteam's work included: analysing the criminal case materials and theprosecution's theory of the case; examining the circumstances surrounding theregulatory decisions relating to financial support provided to a bankinginstitution; analysing banking legislation, the regulator's internalregulations, and supervisory procedures; examining collective decision-makingmechanisms; determining the actual scope of authority and role of each client; developingindividual defence strategies; representing the clients during interviews andother investigative and procedural measures; preparing procedural submissions,motions, applications, and legal opinions; analysing financial, banking,regulatory, and internal documentation; coordinating the work of industry experts;challenging allegations of the clients' personal involvement in allegedlyunlawful decisions; distinguishing legitimate regulatory activity from conductpotentially giving rise to criminal liability; and mitigating criminal,professional, and reputational risks.

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Jurisdiction— Ukraine

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Investigating Authority— National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, SpecializedAnti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office

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Practice— White-Collar Crime |

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Team — 2 partners;3 lawyers.

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Outcome —the BLACK FORT team represented the clients at key stages of the pre-trialinvestigation and developed a comprehensive legal position demonstrating theabsence of grounds for imposing individual criminal liability in relation todecisions adopted through established regulatory and collective decision-makingprocedures.

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Thedefence strategy was aimed at preventing unjustified criminal prosecution,accurately defining each client's actual authority and responsibilities, anddistinguishing participation in internal regulatory processes from conductcapable of constituting a criminal offence.

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Status— representation was provided throughout the pre-trial investigation.

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Significance of the Matter —the engagement ranks among the most complex criminal investigations involving financialregulation, requiring a comprehensive analysis of banking legislation,financial regulation, and the decision-making processes of a state financialregulator.

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A key challenge wasdistinguishing collective regulatory decisions from the individual conduct ofspecific officials, while establishing the actual scope of each client'sauthority, role, and potential liability.