On May 16, the court completed the questioning of a witness in the case of MP Liudmyla Marchenko, who is charged with abuse of influence.
During the hearing, the defense cited statements from the indictment and asked the witness whether he confirmed the circumstances of the bribe transfer to Marchenko’s assistant, Anastasiia Kolesnik. In response, the witness confirmed that he had given the bribe to the assistant in two instalments of $3,000 each.
According to the investigation, MP Liudmyla Marchenko, together with her assistant, promised to add a conscription-age man to the “Shliakh” system in exchange for a bribe—allowing him to cross the border legally. Law enforcement has identified two episodes of illegal activity: in the first, the MP allegedly received $6,000 for unimpeded border crossing, and in the second—$5,300 for registering in the “Shliakh” system. Law enforcement officers recorded on video how Marchenko threw the money over the fence of her estate when NABU detectives unexpectedly arrived.
The actions of Marchenko and Kolesnik have been classified under Article 369-2(2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.