Ukrainian MP Oleksii Kuznietsov arrested for corruption, bail set at US$190,000

The High Anti-Corruption Court has remanded the MP Oleksii Kuznietsov in custody for 60 days with the option of bail following his arrest by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).

Source: Suspilne, a Ukrainian public broadcaster; Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court

Quote from the High Anti-Corruption Court: "On Monday 4 August, an investigative judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a preventive measure on a Member of the Ukrainian Parliament of the 9th convocation in the form of 60 days of detention. As an alternative, the court set bail at 8,003,004 hryvnias (about US$190,000)."

Details: It is reported that if bail is posted, the suspect will be subject to the following obligations: to appear before the investigator, prosecutor, investigating judge, or court upon request; not to leave the borders of Kyiv Oblast without permission from the investigator, prosecutor, or court; to notify the investigator, prosecutor, or court of any change in place of residence and/or employment; to refrain from communicating with the individuals specified in the investigating judge’s ruling; to hand over to the relevant state authorities their passport(s) and any other documents granting the right to leave or enter Ukraine; and to wear an electronic monitoring device.

For reference: Kuznietsov was among those who on 22 July voted in favour of the controversial bill No. 12414, which effectively placed Ukraine’s independent anti-corruption bodies under the authority of the Prosecutor General.

Background:

• On Saturday 2 August, following a briefing from NABU Director Semen Kryvonos and SAPO Head Oleksandr Klymenko, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that a member of parliament, as well as several heads of district and city administrations and National Guard officers, had been exposed for bribery.
• NABU and SAPO reported that the bribery was connected with the procurement of UAVs and electronic warfare equipment. The scheme involved state contracts being signed with suppliers at deliberately inflated prices.
• According to Ukrainska Pravda sources, a number of officials were exposed by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) as having been involved in large-scale corruption. Among those officials are Oleksii Kuznietsov, an MP from the Servant of the People party, Serhii Haidai, Head of the Mukachevo District State Administration in Zakarpattia Oblast and former head of the Luhansk Oblast Military Administration, and Andrii Yurchenko, Head of the Rubizhne City Military Administration in Luhansk Oblast.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!