Case description
On August 28, 2020, the HACC found Oleksandr Levkivskyi, acting director of the Rzhyshchiv Forestry Enterprise, and his accomplice Yurii Marysyk guilty of receiving a bribe of USD 10,000 for influencing the head of the Kyiv Forestry Administration to provide land for use. After the final consideration of the case in the appellate instance, they were sentenced to 6 and 5 years in prison, respectively, with confiscation of property.
In winter 2016, the acting director of the state enterprise Rzhyshchiv Military Forestry Levkivskyi, in prior agreement with Marysyk, offered another person to contribute to the provision of land for long-term use for the appropriate payment. Having previously agreed on the amount, Levkivskyi assured that the letter of approval from the local administration was ready, and he would be able to transfer it as soon as he received the amount. When receiving USD 10,000, Marysyk was caught by law enforcement officers.
The actions of Levkivskyi, the head of the forestry enterprise, were qualified by the first instance of the HACC under Article 368, part 1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and Article 369-2, part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine; he was imprisoned for 4 years and banned from holding certain positions for 3 years.
Marysyk's crime was qualified under Art. 27, part 5, Art. 368, part 1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and Art. 369-2, part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison and additionally deprived of the right to hold certain positions for 2 years.
On March 17, 2021, the appellate instance exempted both Levkivskyi and Marysyk from liability for abuse of influence due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
Instead, in another part of the verdict, the appeal changed the qualification of the defendants' actions to Art. 368, part 3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (that is, receiving a bribe in a large amount), since the first instance incorrectly calculated the amount of the bribe. Therefore, the punishment also changed: for Levkivskyi — 6 years in prison with confiscation of property and deprivation of the right to hold certain positions for 3 years, for Marysyk — 5 years with confiscation.
The Supreme Court left the cassation appeal from Levkivskyi without consideration because it did not meet the requirements.
In May 2024, Marysyk was released on parole to serve in the army under a contract. This was achieved after the new Article 81-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine was introduced.
