On August 6, 2025, the HACC found Oleksii Salnikov, former head of the State Judicial Administration, guilty of abuse of influence but acquitted him on charges of fraud.
He was sentenced to three years of imprisonment and barred from holding positions in public authorities for three years. His interim measure — bail in the amount of UAH 575,320 — was not changed. However, the court imposed additional obligations: he must surrender his international passport and may not leave the Kyiv region.
The prosecutor requested a sentence of seven years of imprisonment, confiscation of all property, and revocation of civil service rank, arguing that Salnikov had incited the offer of a bribe and committed fraud.
The defense, on the other hand, requested an acquittal, insisting that Oleksii Honchar, the complainant and witness in the case, had initiated all actions, and that there had been no incitement or encouragement to offer a bribe on Salnikov’s part. They also argued that Honchar’s testimony was unreliable.
As we reported earlier, Oleksii Salnikov was accused of inciting Oleksii Honchar in March 2023 to offer a $7,500 bribe in exchange for a favourable decision by the Supreme Court in a case involving a commercial company. However, following the exposure of Kniaziev for accepting a bribe, Salnikov’s behavior allegedly changed significantly — he began to avoid resolving the matter, but did not return the funds, which investigators classified as fraud.