Case description
On February 3, 2022, the HACC found Andrii Novak and Oleksandr Bilyk, former Kyiv judges, guilty of receiving a USD 8,000 bribe for adopting the “right” decision in a civil case. Both were imprisoned for 7.5 and 7 years, respectively.
In 2018, Andrii Novak, the then judge of the Holosiivskyi District Court of Kyiv, heard the case under a lawsuit of citizen Mishkov. After the hearing, he found a lawyer, Oleksandr Bilyk, who used to work as a judge in the same court. Bilyk was effectively an intermediary in the subsequent transfer of a part of the bribe that he asked Mishkov for the adoption of a favorable court decision in his lawsuit. Novak and Bilyk received a total of USD 8,000 from Mishkov.
In April 2018, when Novak and Bilyk received the last tranche of money, law enforcement officers searched Novak's place. He was found to be in possession of firearms and ammunition that were stored without a proper permit.
The court classified Novak's actions under Article 263, part 1 (unlawful handling of weapons, ammunition or explosives) and Article 368, part 3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Bilyk was charged with Article 27, parts 4, 5; Article 368, part 3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Both were detained immediately in the courtroom and sentenced: Novak to 7.5 years behind bars, and Bilyk to 7 years, both with confiscation of property and deprivation of the right to hold the positions of judge and lawyer for 3 years.
This verdict was upheld both in the appelate and cassation instances.
