Case description
On April 8, 2024, the HACC sentenced Dmytro Manchulenko, former Director of the Chernivtsi Perinatal Center, for attempting to bribe Regional Council officials to keep his job. Manchulenko was sentenced to a 6-year prison term.
In February 2020, the City Clinical Maternity Hospital No. 1 was reorganized into the Municipal Non-Profit Enterprise “Chernivtsi Regional Perinatal Center.” At the time the crime was committed, the institution was under the jurisdiction of the Chernivtsi Regional Council, which was responsible for all matters related to its operation, including the appointment of its head.
According to the investigation, in the spring of 2021, Manchulenko was caught trying to bribe officials of the Chernivtsi Regional Council. For USD 12,000 (or, as the defendant himself put it, “for 12 kilograms”), of which USD 2,000 was to be paid to the intermediary and USD 10,000 to the head of the Chernivtsi Regional Council, the latter was to appoint him for an indefinite period of time as the CEO of MNCE Chernivtsi Regional Perinatal Center, a reorganized maternity hospital.
Manchulenko's history of cooperation with this institution had been long: since 2017, he had been repeatedly fired, in particular for improper performance of duties, but he was reinstated through the courts, and in addition, received compensation for forced absenteeism totaling more than UAH 1.5 million. Manchulenko interpreted the ruling of the Chernivtsi Court of Appeal dated June 4, 2020, in his favor, as if it confirmed the indefinite nature of his tenure in the position. Later, the advisor to the head of the Chernivtsi Regional Council informed the head of the Council about these circumstances, and the latter advised contacting law enforcement authorities. The advisor submitted a report to the Security Service of Ukraine in the Chernivtsi region regarding an attempt to offer an unlawful benefit to the head of the Regional Council.
In addition, despite the conflict of interest, Manchulenko decided to increase the salary of his son, who was the Chief of the Maternity Ward, by 40%, which is qualified as a corruption-related offense. As a result, Manchulenko was found guilty of committing an administrative offense and fined.
Manchulenko was detained red-handed after the transfer of the bribe.
During the court hearings, Manchulenko claimed that he had been provoked by law enforcement agencies and that the rules of jurisdiction had been violated. He stated that after the change of the Chernivtsi city mayor, he began to experience pressure. From 2014 to 2020, he was dismissed four times and suspended from office nine times. He challenged these decisions in court, and more than 60 court rulings were issued in this regard.
The HACC took these arguments critically. In one of the recorded conversations, Manchulenko suggested “offering more” after the adviser refused to take the envelope.
He was charged with Article 369(4) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and sentenced to 6 years in prison. The court also applied a special confiscation to the funds that were the subject of the crime and recovered USD 12,000 into the national income.
The HACC Court of Appeal upheld the verdict.
In May 2023, he was dismissed from his position as CEO of the Regional Perinatal Center in Chernivtsi. The decision was supported by 42 members of the regional council during a session.
