Case description
NABU and SAPO suspect Vasyl Artymovych and Mykhailo Yurkevych, former heads of the Economic Court of Lviv Region, of soliciting a $1 million bribe from a representative of a private company. Borys Plotnitskyi, the former head of the Western Economic Court of Appeal, also appears in the case.
According to investigators, the defendants promised to deliver “desired” court decisions in cases under consideration in the Western Economic Court of Appeal. We are discussing a conflict between the co-founders of the private medical laboratory Esculab. One of the owners, Serhii Diadiushko, who holds 43% of the shares, filed a lawsuit in the Economic Court to challenge the current company charter and regain sole control. Due to a prolonged legal battle, Diadiushko, according to the investigation, allegedly decided to order the murder of another co-founder, Stanislav Luhovskyi, who also owns 43% of the shares.
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According to the investigation, judges Artymovych, Yurkevych, and Plotnitskyi conspired with Diadiushko. They allegedly offered Luhovskyi to save his life for $1 million and resolve the corporate conflict in court.
It is known that Artymovych participated in all the conversations involving the defendants in the case and demanded that the money be transferred through Yurkevych, who had already retired. In early November 2024, Luhovskyi handed Yurkevych $75,000 in bribes, an act that was recorded by detectives.
The NABU continues its investigation. The defendants are charged under Article 369-2, Part 3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
After the suspicion was reported, Vasyl Artymovych submitted a request for his dismissal from the post of chairman of the court. Other judges voted in favor of his dismissal, and the HCJ temporarily suspended him from his duties, permitting his detention.
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