The NABU and the SAPO charge former Ternopil District Council member Volodymyr Tymchii, lawyer Rostyslav Lukashov, and businessman Orest Samotiaha with bribery.

According to the investigation, businessman Orest Samotiaha urged a prospective buyer of the agricultural enterprise Onyx to pay a bribe for a ruling in the enterprise's favor, plus bribes to Tymchii — deputy head of the Velyka Berezovytsia community — and lawyer Lukashov for help registering ownership and for not appealing the court decision.

According to the investigation, while preparing to sell Onyx and its land plots, the enterprise's owner became embroiled in a legal dispute with the local amalgamated community over ownership of the land. To resolve it, a procedure to register the land rights was launched with the involvement of Halytski Zemli LLC. However, it emerged that some of the plots were already registered to the Velyka Berezovytsia settlement council.

Against this backdrop, the enterprise's director, Samotiaha, launched a scheme to unlawfully influence the land-registration process. He began urging the buyer and his lawyer to pay an unlawful benefit: first $20,000 to a judge of the Commercial Court of Ternopil Region for a ruling in the enterprise's favor, and then another $20,000 to a settlement council official for not appealing that ruling and clearing any obstacles.

Lawyer Lukashov was drawn into the scheme and arranged meetings with local council member Tymchii. Tymchii, in turn, demanded a much larger bribe — $300,000, of which $50,000 was to be paid up front.

Meanwhile, the Commercial Court of Ternopil Region opened proceedings to cancel the ownership registration of the disputed plots. According to the investigation, the participants discussed handing money to the judge on the eve of the ruling and coordinated their actions to secure the outcome they wanted.

Tymchii resigned his seat on the Ternopil District Council.

The defendants' actions were classified under Article 368(4) and Article 369(3) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The trial is ongoing.