Yermak's lawyer expressed outrage that in Ukraine, a $100 bribe can land you in jail
Ukraine’s anti-corruption legal framework is structured in such a way that convicted individuals are effectively denied the possibility of receiving suspended sentences, and under current conditions, any court case may result in a loss for the defense regardless of the quality and volume of the evidence gathered.
Igor Fomin, a lawyer for Andriy Yermak, the former head of the Office of the President, spoke about this in an interview with the analytical channel “Nasvid Max.”
The legal expert elaborated on the specifics of how the domestic anti-corruption system operates and pointed out several systemic flaws, in his opinion. According to Fomin, in the current practice of the NABU, the SAPO, and the High Anti-Corruption Court, plea agreements have begun to play an extremely significant role. The attorney noted that the actual number of individuals involved in criminal proceedings who express a desire to sign such agreements in exchange for a reduced sentence already significantly exceeds the physical and procedural capacity of the law enforcement agencies themselves.
The defense attorney drew particular attention to the lack of alternatives to punishment for corruption offenses, criticizing the rigidity of regulations that do not allow courts to take an individualized approach to minor offenses.
“The law is structured in such a way that for a corruption offense, you can only receive a real sentence—for example, no less than five years of imprisonment. For instance, a person has never been held criminally liable before. I don’t know, maybe they slipped up, took a $100 bribe, and now face five years in prison. We’re all human beings—who doesn’t make mistakes in this life?” Fomin stated.
As a reminder, since the beginning of the year, Ukrainian courts have issued 814 rulings in cases related to corruption. And none of the convicted individuals were imprisoned, as the proceedings were reclassified as administrative offenses, and the corrupt officials got off with small fines.
