On April 30, 2026, the HACC partially granted the prosecution's motion and imposed an additional obligation on MP Oleksandr Yurchenko — charged with bribery — requiring him to remain within Kyiv Region for two months.
On April 28, the court had begun hearing a prosecution motion to modify Yurchenko's interim measure. The prosecutor asked the court to forfeit the existing UAH 3 million bail to the state and impose a new measure — 60 days' pre-trial detention.
The motion was prompted by what the prosecution characterized as Yurchenko's deliberate obstruction of justice through systematic absence from hearings at the final stage of the trial. Specifically, the prosecution established that Yurchenko had personally arranged his own official trips to Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions on the very dates when hearings were scheduled. The prosecutor argued that there are risks of the defendant absconding and obstructing the proceedings, and that the existing interim measure has lost its effectiveness.
The defense objected, arguing that increasing or forfeiting the bail would not serve the purposes of the criminal proceedings.
Defense counsel noted that the trip order had been signed by Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, and that counsel was himself in another hearing at the time — which served as the basis for a motion to adjourn. The defense also argued that Yurchenko's presence in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions on those days was not an attempt to avoid court but a necessity, given his active work protecting the rights of internally displaced persons and victims of Russian aggression.
Counsel separately highlighted a letter from the SAPO head to the Verkhovna Rada Speaker regarding the Yurchenko and Fishchenko trial, which the defense characterized as an attempt to improperly influence the proceedings and interfere with their objective consideration.
The defense also noted that over six years under the existing UAH 3 million bail, Yurchenko had not obstructed justice, had not influenced witnesses, and had appeared in court when summoned — with only isolated exceptions.
Counsel stressed that even the current bail amount is disproportionate for the defendant: it was posted by third parties, not Yurchenko himself, and his salary declarations for 2024–2025 show that his earnings do not cover that sum. He also has four young children and two elderly parents, one of whom has a disability, in his care.
In parallel, the defense sought recusal of the prosecutor, arguing that he and SAPO leadership were exerting indirect pressure on the court — both through the motion to forfeit bail and through public communications on SAPO's official channel — in an attempt to artificially accelerate the proceedings and steer the court toward a particular decision.
When the judge asked whether the recusal motion concerned the entire prosecution team, counsel specified it was directed at the SAPO head and the case prosecutor. Having heard the parties' arguments, the court denied the recusal motion.
MP Oleksandr Yurchenko and his assistant Ivan Fishchenko are charged with inciting bribery and receiving a bribe. According to the investigation, Yurchenko demanded money through an intermediary in exchange for introducing amendments to a waste management bill. The case materials contain recorded conversations in which participants discussed payment amounts, referring to them as "perks."
