A lawyer was sentenced to nine years in prison for fraud and incitement to bribe judges

The High Anti-Corruption Court has handed down a sentence to a lawyer who incited his client to provide $120,000 in bribes to judges of the High Specialized Court. 

This was reported by the SAPO press service, noting that the convicted man promised a favorable ruling in the case, citing his friendly relations with the judges.

The investigation established that the lawyer had no intention of transferring the money: he spent part of the funds on his own needs and kept the rest at home and in his office. The court found the man guilty of fraud on an especially large scale and of inciting the provision of a bribe to a public official.

In addition to a nine-year prison sentence, half of his personal property will be confiscated, and he will be barred from practicing law for two years. The verdict may be appealed within 30 days.

The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office is asking the court to remand MP Oleksandr Yurchenko into custody, as he is accused of receiving an unlawful benefit. The request is based on the politician’s systematic failure to appear at court hearings and his delaying of the proceedings.

The First Disciplinary Chamber of the High Council of Justice (HCJ) held Judge Tetiana Ilieva accountable, limiting the penalty to a warning. The mildest possible sanction was imposed following a complaint by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) regarding the unlawful lifting of asset freezes on funds totaling over 19 million hryvnias and 100,000 dollars.