By KYIV. Nov 30 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s anti-corruption authorities exposed a group of judges of the Kyiv Court of Appeal for soliciting bribes for lifting the seizure of property, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) has reported.
“On November 29, 2023, SAPO prosecutors and NABU detectives exposed four judges of the Kyiv Court of Appeal for soliciting bribes of $35,000 for making a decision to lift the seizure of property,” SAPO said on its Telegram channel on Thursday.
According to the prosecutor’s office, it was established that on November 28, a mediating judge received an undue benefit from a representative of a private company for satisfying a complaint against a local court ruling to seize aircraft.
“After receiving the funds, the said judge kept $10,000 for himself, and gave $25,000 to his colleagues who made the court decision. On November 29, $25,000 was distributed among all members of the panel of judges who were involved in the appeal proceedings,” SAPO said.
During searches at the location and residence of the judges, detectives seized funds received as illegal benefits.
The issue of notifying suspicion against judges is being resolved. Preliminary qualification of the criminal offense is under Part 3 of Article 28, Part 4 Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
