Case description
On July 29, 2024, the HACC found Serhii Kononenko, the judge of the Leninskyi District Court of Poltava, guilty of accepting bribes for the quick adoption of decisions in civil cases. He was sentenced to 6 years in prison after the case had been heard in two instances.
In August 2017, Judge Kononenko contacted the plaintiff in the case he was hearing and demanded a bribe to ensure a quick decision in favor of the plaintiff. The latter asked to recover the debt of UAH 100,000. Kononenko was detained while he was receiving a UAH 5,000 bribe.
The investigation subsequently indicated two episodes of bribery for court decisions—UAH 3,000 and UAH 5,000. However, the court found the charges only partially proven.
The HACC qualified Kononenko's actions under Art. 368, part 3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and sentenced him to 7 years in prison with confiscation of property, a ban on holding certain positions for 3 years, and the deprivation of the military rank of Major of Justice.
For all 5 years, while the investigation and court proceedings were ongoing, Kononenko, who was suspended from the administration of justice, continued to receive a considerable judicial salary of UAH 30,000–60,000 per month. In June 2022, his defense counsel filed a motion to suspend the criminal proceedings, as Kononenko was serving in the Armed Forces. The court refused to do so because the judge did not take part in hostilities, but served in a Poltava military unit, so he could participate in the hearings.
The appellate instance later overturned Kononenko's sentence and sent the case for another consideration by the first instance. The HACC released Kononenko from custody and changed the interim measure to UAH 215,000 bail. In July 2024, the HACC announced the verdict: 6 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property and deprivation of the right to hold office in judicial authorities.
