Case description
On October 31, 2023, the HACC found Serhii Ukrainskyi and Maksym Kalnyi, two former heads of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, and lawyer Andrii Chernyshov, guilty of organizing the receipt of USD 10,000 in bribes.
In March 2016, during the inspection of a Ukrainian citizen's personal belongings at the Zaitseve checkpoint, it was discovered that he was hiding RUB 4.8 million in his car. The money was confiscated and seized.
The driver was represented by two lawyers, including Andrii Chernyshov. Between September and December 2016, these lawyers filed three motions with the investigating judge of the Ordzhonikidze District Court of Mariupol to cancel the arrest, but were denied. Only in March, after the fourth appeal, the court granted their motion and canceled the arrest.
Upon learning about this, the head of the prosecutor's office Ukrainskyi decided to demand a bribe for the money to be returned. In case of refusal, he threatened to seize the funds again on charges of terrorist financing. This demand was made to one of the lawyers, and Chernyshov became an intermediary in transferring money to one of the exchanges in Mariupol. However, the lawyer who was demanded to pay the bribe appealed to the SSU.
The actions of Ukrainskyi, Kalnyi, and Chernyshev were classified under Article 368, part 3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The head of the prosecutor's office was sentenced to 7 years in prison with confiscation of property and a ban on holding certain positions for 3 years. Kalnyi and Chernyshov were sentenced to 6 years in prison with confiscation of property as accomplices.
