Today, the High Anti-Corruption Court declined to take MP Viktor Bondar into custody. He is suspected of organizing a large-scale kickback scheme worth UAH 140 million at Ukrzaliznytsia during cable procurement in 2021-2022. The prosecutor requested to take Bondar into custody.
The MP was required to appear upon the first summons, refrain from communicating with suspects and witnesses, and surrender his passport. He was also prohibited from traveling outside Kyiv without permission and from visiting Ukrzaliznytsia and the Ministry of Infrastructure premises.
According to the investigation, back in 2017, Bondar acquired a share in Ukrkabel and registered it under his mother’s name. Oleh Melnyk and Volodymyr Dovbenko became co-owners of other companies. At the same time, defendant Volodymyr Kotliar gained control over additional companies in the cable products trade.
In October-November 2021, the already well-known former adviser to the Presidential Office, Artem Shilo, joined the operation. He was tasked with assisting the Bondar/Kotliar group in supplying cables to Ukrzaliznytsia at inflated prices.
Law enforcement officials documented that Bondar, leveraging his connections, fought against competitors and directly appealed to former Infrastructure Minister Vladyslav Kryklii, requesting the cancellation of all procurement procedures for Ukrzaliznytsia cables. Detectives also discovered a draft of his parliamentary request to the National Police, aimed at initiating cases against competitors.
What else is known about Bondar? He is currently an MP and was previously a member of the Party of Regions. The MP voted for the “dictatorial” laws on January 16, 2014, and signed a submission to the Constitutional Court advocating for the decriminalization of falsehoods in declarations. He is also associated with Ihor Kolomoiskyi.