Case description
The HACC found Andrii Chuiasov, director of the Poltava branch of the Center for Certification and Expertise of Seeds and Horticultural Material (CCESHM), guilty of aiding and abetting abuse of office to obtain a bribe for another legal entity.
According to the investigation, in 2020, officials from the CCESHM conspired to approve contracts under which the state enterprise paid for services at inflated rates in favor of private companies and Chuiasov himself. Products were sold at below-market prices, while service costs were significantly overstated. This enabled the misappropriation of budget funds.
The scheme reportedly involved overstated expenses, unjustified volumes of work, and disregard for the actual market value of products in the contracts. As a result, CCESHM spent more on services than it received from reselling the products through intermediaries.
Total damages are estimated at over UAH 13 million. Chuiasov’s role was to instruct the preparation of work acceptance certificates with inflated amounts. These actions were disguised as standard contractual obligations between the state institution and private companies, and official documents were signed on behalf of CCESHM.
Chuiasov was charged under Article 364(2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. During both the pre-trial investigation and trial, Chuiasov fully admitted his guilt. The HACC approved a plea agreement and sentenced him to a 2-year probation period instead of 4 years in prison. He was also fined UAH 8,500 and banned from holding certain positions for 2 years. Also, Chuiasov agreed to transfer UAH 150,000 to the state enterprise as partial reimbursement of damages.
