Bail for party leader Tymoshenko set by Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court

A bail of UAH 33 million (US$761,000) has been set for Yuliia Tymoshenko by the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine. Tymoshenko, leader of the Batkivshchyna party and parliamentary faction, is suspected of offering a bribe to MPs.

Source: High Anti-Corruption Court hearing broadcast

Details: Judge Vitalii Dubas partially approved a motion from prosecutors, who had asked for bail of UAH 50 million (US$1.2 million).

The court has also imposed a number of procedural obligations on the suspect, specifically appearing when summoned by the court, an investigator, or a prosecutor; not leaving Kyiv Oblast; notifying authorities of any change of residence or employment; refraining from contact with specified MPs; and surrendering passports for travel abroad.

There is no requirement to wear an electronic tag.

In her address to the court, Tymoshenko asked the judge not to impose any pre-trial restrictions or limit them to personal obligations.

Lawyers for the Batkivshchyna party leader also objected to the procedural obligations. The defence said that a ban on leaving the capital and Kyiv Oblast and the surrender of Tymoshenko's passport would significantly affect her ability to carry out political activity. Regarding an electronic tag, the lawyer argued that "women's footwear differs from men's, it has certain features, so the requirement to wear an electronic tag can be regarded as a form of torture".

Previously: Yuliia Tymoshenko has claimed that tapes released by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) have been falsified, as such a conversation "has never taken place in her life".

Tymoshenko said that tapes released by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) captured a conversation with Ihor Kopytin, an MP from the Servant of the People party, whom she claims was "carrying out assignments" from the bureau in order to compromise her.

Lawyers representing Yuliia Tymoshenko have asked Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court to add documents to the case file indicating that she needs to travel abroad in January and February to attend certain events.

Background:

• On the evening of Tuesday 13 January, NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) reported that they had uncovered corruption involving the leader of a parliamentary faction. Sources told Ukrainska Pravda that the case concerns Yuliia Tymoshenko.
• The anti-corruption bodies stated that a leader of the parliamentary faction had been exposed for allegedly offering unlawful benefits to several MPs from other factions in exchange for voting for or against specific draft laws.
• On the morning of 14 January, sources in political circles told Ukrainska Pravda that anti-corruption agencies had served Tymoshenko with a notice of suspicion.
• In the recordings released by NABU, Tymoshenko is heard discussing with an unidentified MP a payment system for specific votes in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament).
• Tymoshenko described the search as a "grand PR stunt" and said that the investigators had "found nothing", instead seizing her "work phones, parliamentary documents and personal savings, all of which are fully declared in my official asset declaration". She also claims it is not her in the tapes released by anti-corruption investigators.

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