Case description
On July 26, 2022, the HACC found Dmytro Loban, a judge of the Chernihiv District Administrative Court, guilty of taking a bribe for a positive decision in the case in favor of the plaintiff. The judges imposed a suspended sentence on him.
According to investigators, in June 2007, the Lutava production cooperative received a 49-year lease on 167 hectares of state land. In 2018, the Main Department of the State Geocadastre in the Chernihiv region terminated the contract without notifying the cooperative.
The head of Lutava filed a lawsuit in court. The court dismissed the claim. After that, Lutava appealed to the Northern Economic Court of Appeal.
In August 2021, the founders of Lutava decided to file a lawsuit with the Chernihiv District Administrative Court, challenging the actions of the state registrar who had recorded the termination of the lease. In August 2021, Tetiana Bakhmat, a representative of the cooperative, contacted Judge Loban via Viber to seek advice regarding a case involving the unlawful termination of a contract. Judge Loban provided advice and recommended that she avoid discussing the merits of the case via messages, suggesting instead that any conversations take place in person.
During one such meeting, Judge Loban suggested filing three similar lawsuits to increase the likelihood that at least one would be assigned to him for consideration. Loban offered to rule in favor of the company for $20,000. The judge received the money in two tranches—$7,000 in October and $13,000 in November. The NABU and SAPO detained Loban while he was receiving the second tranche of the bribe.
Loban's actions were classified under Article 368(3) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The defense asked to approve Loban's plea agreement because he got mobilized on the first day of the full-scale invasion and was positively characterized by his fellows and volunteers.
The court approved the plea agreement and imposed a suspended sentence on Judge Loban with a three-year probationary period. It also ordered the confiscation of the first part of the bribe (USD 7,000) which had been spent by him and was therefore not seized during the criminal proceedings. The court also banned Loban from holding certain positions for 3 years. In addition, the HACC reduced Loban's bail from UAH 1 mln to UAH 278,000, and channeled the rest UAH 720,000 to the needs of the Armed Forces.
Loban was appointed for the position of Judge of the Chernihiv District Administrative Court in 2012. In 2022, he was temporarily suspended from this duties. In 2024, the HCJ initiated disciplinary proceedings against him.
In addition, in 2022, Loban was mobilized into the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
