The HACC convicted Dmytro Travynov, director of Avtotechtsentr LLC, of receiving a bribe of over $250,000 as part of the broader case against former acting head of State Enterprise Chornomorsk Commercial Sea Port Ihor Shevchenko, whose trial is still ongoing.

According to the prosecution, Travynov, acting in concert with SE Chornomorsk Commercial Sea Port director Ihor Shevchenko, extorted money in exchange for approving the rehabilitation plan of a bankrupt private company.

European Agro Investment Ukraine LLC had leased state-owned real estate for 49 years to conduct loading and unloading operations. Under the lease terms, the tenant was required to pay monthly rent, a portion of which went to the state budget and a portion to the state enterprise that owned the property. The tenant accumulated significant arrears, prompting the opening of bankruptcy proceedings.

During the bankruptcy process, a company expressed interest in participating in the debtor's rehabilitation as an investor. Shevchenko and Travynov then entered into a criminal conspiracy to extort a bribe in exchange for facilitating approval of the rehabilitation plan and concluding a debt assignment agreement.

Travynov demanded $250,000 to be passed on to Shevchenko as the price for approving the rehabilitation plan of debtor European Agro Investment Ukraine LLC at a creditors' meeting.

At the subsequent creditors' meeting, a vote in favor of the rehabilitation plan was cast on behalf of SE Chornomorsk Commercial Sea Port. The insolvency administrator then filed the approved plan and meeting minutes with the court. A few days later, Travynov received the bribe.

NABU detectives caught Ihor Shevchenko and Dmytro Travynov red-handed at the moment of receiving the agreed sum. During the searches, law enforcement seized $250,000 in cash.

The following day, both detainees were served with notices of suspicion. The acting port director was charged under Article 368(4) of the Criminal Code; his accomplice Travynov was charged under Articles 27(5) and 368(4).

Travynov was placed on the wanted list in 2022 and his proceedings were severed. He was later detained in Spain.

The HACC approved the plea agreement and found Travynov guilty under Article 368(4) of the Criminal Code, sentencing him to eight years' imprisonment with a one-year ban on holding managerial positions in private business, without asset confiscation. He was released on probation for three years and ordered to pay UAH 31,000 in procedural costs. Shevchenko's trial is ongoing.

Under the plea agreement, Travynov is to transfer UAH 7 million to the Come Back Alive foundation and UAH 8 million to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He will also voluntarily hand over seven vehicles — including a MERCEDES-BENZ, a VOLVO, and a RENAULT KANGOO — to the military, and transfer a seaside plot with a townhouse in Odesa to ARMA for subsequent sale.

Travynov is also a defendant in a separate case in which HACC convicted Novichkov and Bulavchenko for offering Oksana Shubko, director of European Agro Investment Ukraine, a $424,000 bribe.