Ukrainian internet association asked Zelensky to interfere in seizure of equipment of Finance.ua

The Ukrainian internet association (INAU), which includes 220 IT companies, addressed an open letter dated of 27th of May to the President Volodymyr Zelensky asking to interfere in seizure of the equipment of Finance.ua edition, as to Finance.ua. "We fully support your declaration at the iForum-2019 about the necessity of joint actions to make changes in the field of digitalization. Unfortunately, your thesis about the inadmissibility of blackmailing business by seizing its digital documents still does not correspond to Ukrainian realities. By now, the domestic law enforcement officers are used to seize electronic data systems (servers and computer equipment), ignoring the provisions of law saying the priority is to copy the data and not to seize servers and so, not to devastate the business", the open letter said. The UIA emphasized that the cost of seized GPU servers and computers is 700 thousand hryvnia ($26 thousand), and the work of the popular Ukraine’s site was significantly affected. The Association urged Volodymyr Zelensky to intervene and to form conditions that will exclude unlawful measures to be taken against Ukraine business. The Finance.ua reminded that one month passed after search in its office, in the course of which the police took away its servers and working computers. "Despite several violations revealed during the search the law enforcement officers committed and the statements made by independent lawyers saying the public prosecutor's office actions were contrary to the law, the Holosiyivsky district public prosecutor's office goes on keeping the equipment of the company," the edition claimed. IMI informed, the editorial board of the web-portal was searched on April 24th. The police seized working computers and all servers. As the employees of the editorial office could get to know, the reasons for this search were some credit frauds, under pretext they were journalists the employees of Finance.ua would contact some “aggrieved persons” asking them to contribute 15% as insurance amount and then took off this money offshore areas. The press service of the Kyiv public prosecutor's office said criminal proceeding had been instituted based on the Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine ("Fraud").