On December 23, 2024, investigating judge Vitalii Kryklyvyi selected an interim measure for Mykhailo Yurkevych—detention with an alternative of bail amounting to UAH 12 million.
Yurkevych was also assigned with the following duties:
- to arrive at the summons to the court and the investigator;
- not to leave Kyiv Oblast without permission;
- to notify the court of the change of his place of residence;
- to refrain from communicating with suspects and witnesses;
- to surrender his international passport;
- to wear an electronic bracelet.
The NABU and the SAPO suspect Vasyl Artymovych and Mykhailo Yurkevych, former heads of the Economic Court of Lviv Oblast, of extorting a bribe of USD 1 million from a representative of Luhovskyi's private firm. According to the investigation, the defendants promised to make favorable court decisions in the proceedings pending in the appellate instance.
The prosecutor noted that the conversations indicated that the first part of the bribe had been transferred through Yurkevych. During the search, USD 7,500 was found in the sofa of Yurkevych, and USD 20,000 was seized from the other judge. The suspect claimed that he only provided legal advice and therefore believed that USD 7,500 was a remuneration for his services.
The prosecutor asked to arrest Yurkevych with the right to bail of UAH 30.2 million and stressed the following risks: his family members live abroad, several messages were deleted from the judges' phones, Yurkevych has influence on the employees of the Western Economic Court of Appeal and has received more than UAH 8 million in income over the past 5 years.
The defense attorneys asked for a more lenient interim measure—house arrest or only bail. In their opinion, the suspicion is unfounded, and these risks are formal. According to them, Yurkevych did not evade the investigation, he appeared in court, and most of his income is spent on his family. According to the defense counsel, it follows from Luhovskyi's testimony that Yurkevych was engaged exclusively in the legal part of the work: he was looking for judicial practice and prepared documents.