The HACC sentenced MP Oleksandr Yurchenko to 9 years' imprisonment with confiscation of property and a ban on holding certain positions. He was charged with extorting and accepting bribes for amending legislation in favor of a foreign company and for the alleged subsequent bribery of other MPs.

Oleksandr Yurchenko was head of the subcommittee on household waste management within the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Energy and Housing and Utilities Services. Yurchenko voted for Draft Law No. 12414, which sought to eliminate the independence of anti-corruption bodies.

Details of the scheme

According to the investigation, the MP, in a veiled manner, asked that “perks” of $13,000 for himself and $200,000 for the MPs on his committee be passed to him through his “assistant” Ivan Fishchenko. In exchange for this money, he promised to secure a vote on amendments to the draft law on Waste Management in favor of a foreign company. This concerns the “green tariff” on electricity for enterprises that process waste.

Earlier, in the summer of 2020, the NABU received information about an organized group engaged in trading in influence among MPs. As part of a special operation, an undercover NABU detective, “Demchenko,” then exposed Yurchenko's corruption scheme. Posing as a representative of an industrial company that purportedly wanted to open a waste-processing plant in Ukraine, the detective got to know Yurchenko through an intermediary.

In early August 2020, the detective handed the first part of the bribe to the intermediary. The special operation was then halted, as NABU stated that someone had tipped off those involved.

Suspicion and legal classification

The serving of the notice of suspicion on the MP was held up for a week by the then Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova. The NABU urged her to sign the notice of suspicion, but she did so only a week after receiving the document from NABU. Initially, moreover, Venediktova claimed that there were no grounds for serving Yurchenko with a notice of suspicion.

Oleksandr Yurchenko was expelled from the Servant of the People faction over the bribery suspicion, but he still holds the mandate of a Member of Parliament of Ukraine. Yurchenko pleaded not guilty, and the case later began to raise the issue of incitement.

Yurchenko's actions were classified under Article 368(4) and Article 27(4) in conjunction with Article 369(4) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Fishchenko's actions were classified under Article 27(5) in conjunction with Article 368(4), and Article 27(4) in conjunction with Article 369(4).

In July 2021, the MP got caught up in a scandal. It emerged that Yurchenko had caused a road accident in central Lviv and attacked a driver who was filming the situation on his phone. Video of the incident was published by another MP, Geo Leros. Yurchenko tried to flee the scene but was unable to. The Halytskyi District Court of Lviv subsequently acquitted Yurchenko, finding no guilt on his part.

At the start of the full-scale invasion, Yurchenko again made headlines after being detained by territorial defense personnel at a checkpoint for aggressive behavior.

During the selection of a preventive measure, he rejected all the accusations, stating that he had nothing to do with the case materials, had not taken any money, and had not incited anyone.

Episode of the other defendant, the MP's “assistant” Ivan Fishchenko

Ivan Fishchenko was the second defendant in this case, but he has been mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2022. He usually took part in the court hearings by videoconference.

However, the court repeatedly noted his failure to appear due to a lack of communication, as well as his involvement in combat operations or military training. As a result, hearings were postponed or interrupted, and the court was unable to proceed with questioning Fischenko for several months. Even when hearings were scheduled for dates that had previously been convenient for Fischenko, he could still fail to appear.

In August 2026, the HACC considered a motion filed by Fischenko’s defense counsel to suspend the proceedings and subsequently granted it. According to the military unit where Fischenko serves, he is currently in an active combat zone on the front line.

Amendment of the charges

During one of the hearings the prosecutor presented a revised indictment, clarifying the distribution of the bribe and changing the legal classification of the defendants’ actions. Under the updated version of the charges, investigators specified the amounts and recipients of the undue benefit. Previously, it was alleged that Yurchenko solicited a USD 13,000 bribe solely for himself. The prosecution now alleges a different split:

• $10,000 — intended for MP Yurchenko directly,
• $3,000 — intended for his “assistant”, Ivan Fishchenko.

In addition, the prosecutor changed the legal classification from “abuse of official position” to “abuse of power,” since the investigation established that the unlawful benefit had been obtained through the use of the authority vested in him, rather than in connection with his official position.

Decision of the court of first instance

In September 2026, the HACC delivered a guilty verdict against Yurchenko. It sentenced him to 9 years' imprisonment with confiscation of property and a 3-year ban on holding positions in state authorities or local self-government bodies.

On part of the charges, the court requalified the MP's actions. It changed the charge from incitement to providing an unlawful benefit (Article 27(4) in conjunction with Article 369(4) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) to trading in influence (Article 369-2(2)). The court then released him from punishment under this article due to the expiry of the limitation period.

The court kept the preventive measure of bail in the amount of UAH 3 million, together with the other obligations, unchanged until the verdict enters into force.