On 28 May 2025, the HACC began questioning Oleksii Salnikov, former Head of the State Judicial Administration who is accused of inciting a bribe and fraud.
According to the investigation, in March 2023, Salnikov received a $7,500 bribe from businessman Oleksii Honchar. Of this amount, $5,000 was allegedly intended for judges of the Supreme Court of Ukraine in exchange for favorable decisions in the interest of Farvater Plus LLC, while the remaining $2,500 was to be kept by Salnikov for facilitating the scheme. However, following the exposure of Supreme Court Chairman Vsevolod Kniaziev for accepting a bribe, Salnikov’s behavior changed — he began avoiding the matter and made no attempt to return the money.
During the hearing, Salnikov stated that he had first met Honchar in 2015 and that their contact had been occasional. However, after Salnikov's appointment as Head of the SJA, Honchar began actively pursuing communication with him, trying to become friends and proposing questionable schemes, including non-transparent participation in tenders and an idea to demolish and rebuild the court building along with residential complexes for profit. Salnikov claimed he was shocked by these proposals, had never initiated anything of the sort himself, and considers himself “a believer” who rejects such conduct.
Later, Honchar allegedly asked Salnikov to help purchase a vehicle that was supposedly to be transferred to a military unit. In March, during a meeting at the “Prague” restaurant, Honchar told Salnikov to expect a letter from the unit outlining their vehicle needs. Unexpectedly, he also showed a significant amount of cash, despite previously complaining about financial hardship. The phrase “we’ll do it for five grand,” recorded by NABU detectives, referred to the vehicle purchase, according to Salnikov, not to the Farvater Plus case. He claimed Honchar only brought up that case later and applied pressure on him. Salnikov said he tried to dodge the request and later pretended it didn’t work out. He insisted he had no prior knowledge of the company’s legal issues and had not made any agreements with anyone regarding it.
In short, Salnikov denies accepting the money as a bribe and claims he took it to buy a car for the military — a purchase that never happened. After that, he decided to cut ties with Honchar and did not intend to return the money. Honchar, however, insisted that the cash was for resolving legal problems faced by Farvater Plus LLC. In response, Salnikov maintains that he did return the money, although he initially took it for the car purchase, and repeatedly emphasized he would not interfere in the case. He also claimed that Honchar’s actions went beyond the limits of a controlled crime operation.