Case description
On February 9, 2023, the HACC found lawyer Anna Beliohlo guilty of inciting her client to bribe a judge for a favorable decision in a DUI case. Based on a plea agreement with the prosecutor, she got a suspended sentence with a 3-year probationary period.
Beliohlo incited her client, Roman Melnychenko, to bribe Judge Taisiia Tsiura of the Odesa Court of Appeal to cancel the decision to bring him to administrative liability for driving under the influence. The driver was fined UAH 17,000 and deprived of his license for 1 year.
The judge herself knew nothing about the lawyer's criminal intentions. Instead, the mediator was the assistant of Yurii Romanenko, another judge who promised to influence the Tsiura for USD 1,700. However, it did not have any impact. The lawyer, in particular, received money from the client, but did not bring the case to an end.
Beliohlo's actions were classified under Article 190, part 1; Article 15, part 2; Article 27, part 4; Article 369, part 3; Article 369-2, part 1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The lawyer agreed to a plea agreement, so instead of 5 years in prison, she got a suspended sentence with a 3-year probationary period. Furhermore, she was fined UAH 51,000.
