On December 10, 2025, the HACC approved a plea agreement with Borys Plotnitskyi, former head of the Western Economic Court of Appeal. He had been suspected of extorting a USD 1 million bribe from a representative of a private company.

According to the investigation, former heads of the Economic Court of Lviv Region—Vasyl Artymovych, Mykhailo Yurkevych, and Borys Plotnitskyi—promised to secure “needed” court rulings in cases pending before the Western Economic Court of Appeal. The cases related to a corporate dispute between co-founders of the private medical laboratory Aesculab.

Serhii Diadiushko, who held a 43% stake, challenged the company’s charter in court, seeking to restore sole control. Amid protracted litigation, the investigation believes he decided to arrange the killing of the other co-founder, Stanislav Luhovskyi, who also held a 43% stake in the company.

Subsequently, Iryna Malekh, a judge of the Western Economic Court of Appeal, was also served with a notice of suspicion in this case.

According to the investigation, the judges allegedly conspired with Diadiushko and offered Luhovskyi to “resolve the issue” by transferring USD 1 million in exchange for preserving his life and settling the corporate dispute through the courts. The suspects promised to ensure favorable rulings in two proceedings: one decision had already been issued at the time, while the other case was still pending. They claimed they could influence judges through official connections and personal ties.

According to the investigative materials, Borys Plotnitskyi was directly involved in extorting an improper benefit from Serhii Diadiushko in the amount of USD 1 million. Investigators recorded that, during communications, Plotnitskyi not only confirmed the initial demand but also warned that the amount could increase, emphasizing the need for additional payments on top of the agreed one million.

In addition, during the same meeting, Plotnitskyi allegedly promised to influence judges of the Western Economic Court of Appeal to secure the required decisions in exchange for the improper benefit, and threatened that adverse rulings could follow if the money was not transferred. He assured that he would influence the court to leave in force the ruling of the Economic Court of Lviv Region, thereby creating in Diadiushko the impression that such influence was real and effective.

Plotnitskyi admitted guilt, and the HACC approved the corresponding agreement with the prosecutor. As a penalty, he was sentenced to 8 years’ imprisonment, a fine of UAH 85,000, and disqualification from holding managerial positions in the civil service for 3 years. However, the court released him from serving the custodial sentence on probation and imposed a two-year probationary period.

Plotnitskyi also undertook to cooperate with the investigation, compensate the injured party for losses, and transfer UAH 10 million in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.