Case description
The HACC convicted Oleksandr Berkovych, former assistant to ex-MP Valerii Lunchenko, who had been involved in the purchase of gas by a branch of Ukrzaliznytsia at inflated prices. Berkovych is a defendant in the case of Poltava Regional Council member Serhii Bielashov.
These events occured in 2016–2020, when the Production Support Center branch of UZ purchased natural gas from private companies Yug-Gaz LLC and Skela Tercium LLC at an inflated price of more than UAH 206 million. At that time, the state suffered almost UAH 204 million in losses.
The prosecution claimed that Berkovych had provided more than UAH 24 million in bribes to his old acquaintance, an employee of the Production Support Center branch of Ukrzaliznytsia. For this amount, UZ had to purchase gas from Skela Tertium LLC without complying with the requirements of the law.
Berkovych's actions were qualified under Art. 369, part 1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The HACC approved the plea agreement, according to which Berkovych must pay UAH 3 million to the Armed Forces. He was exempted from a fine of UAH 12,750 due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
One of the judges who delivered the sentence provided a separate opinion, where she noted that Berkovych effectively had committed the crime provided for in Art. 369, part 3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and therefore the agreement could not be approved due to incorrect qualifications.
