Case description
On February 19, 2021, the HACC found judge Volodymyr Ponomarenko from Cherkasy guilty of taking a bribe of UAH 30,000 for influencing the decision of other judges to help a driver get away with driving while intoxicated.
In August 2018, judge of the Court of Appeal of Cherkasy Oblast, Ponomarenko, received a bribe of UAH 30,000 from a local for influencing the judges of the Sosnivskyi District Court of Cherkasy. For this money, the court had to ensure that the driver avoided punishment for driving a car in a state of alcoholic intoxication (before that, two administrative protocols were drawn up on him).
Prior to that, Ponomarenko called the head of this district court, Alla Chechot, to arrange a meeting with her subordinates; they were the ones who had to hear the cases of the Cherkasy driver. “We need to talk to the guys,” Ponomarenko explained his motives in a telephone conversation. Although Chechot refused him, the ex-judge took money from the driver anyway.
The case was qualified under Article 369-2, part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Abuse of influence). The HACC sentenced Ponomarenko to 2 years in prison.
The appellate instance upheld this decision. The Supreme Court overturned the verdict of the first instance, released Ponomarenko from prison, and closed the criminal proceedings. The reason was the procedural deadlines violated by the prosecutor, and this case was the first one when the Supreme Court overturned the verdict of the High Anti-Corruption Court.
