Case description
On September 2, 2021, the HACC found Ternopil judge Mykhailo Krentsel and lawyer Nataliia Lisna guilty of extortion for “resolving” a local resident's issue in court.
Mykhailo Krentsel is a retired judge who worked at the Koziv District Court in Ternopil Region since 1994. He demanded UAS 2,000 through lawyer Nataliia Lisna; for this money, he was supposed to refuse to cancel the applicant's probation at the request of the penitentiary service.
The applicant, a local, had previously been convicted of theft, but was exempted from the actual sentence with a probationary period of 3 years. He did not report to the relevant services, so a motion was filed to return him to the place of detention. Lisna promised to help by making arrangements with Judge Krentsel.
The lawyer assured him that part of the judge would receive a part of the USD 2,000 bribe, and the prosecutor would receive another part. In reality, however, Krentsel received only USD 400, and Lisna took the rest. But despite this, the ex-judge still refused to grant the motion, as promised in exchange for a bribe.
The HACC only received the case in September 2019. Since April 2016, the case had been heard in three different courts, where the charges were supposed to be considered.
Krentsel's actions were classified under Article 368, part 3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and Lisna's actions were classified as an accomplice—under Article 27, part 5, Article 368, part 3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Krentsel was sentenced to 6 years in prison and banned from holding a number of positions for 3 years with confiscation of all his property. Lawyer Lisna was imprisoned for 5 years, lost her right to practice law for 2 years, and half of her property was confiscated.
The case is currently being heard in the appellate instance.
