Convicted Odesa judge Saltan complained that she was demanded to return 15 thousand dollars

Liudmyla Saltan, a judge of the Kyiv Court of Odesa, convicted of corruption, was involved in other similar transactions in addition to the case for which she was convicted.

This is evidenced by the data set out in the court' s verdict.

In particular, she told the realtor from whom the judge extorted money that she had been involved in resolving issues involving people who had been tried for criminal offenses and whom she called "prisoners." Those 'zeks' allegedly paid her and the judge 15 thousand dollars in their trial, but then they changed their minds and demanded the money back. The people also allegedly threatened the lawyer in their case, and she was forced to give back her money. But the judge who also received the money, according to Lyudmyla Saltan, refused to return it, and so she is forced to look for funds.

"I need it badly, we were badly framed there. In general, I need a dozen. It was a horrible way to set us up. At first, they said to solve the issue through us, through the criminal judge, the prisoners said. They said: "We plead guilty, please help us!" I think they gave 15 thousand. And then the judge left to take the money to his wife, and I spent mine - I had three thousand there. Then they changed their minds, so I got the money back. They started threatening that lawyer, and she gave her money back because the judge said so: "If they changed their minds, that's their problem". How can they change their minds," the judge complained.

This increased the amount she demanded from the realtor from four to five thousand dollars. The High Anti-Corruption Court pointed out that Lyudmyla Saltan was well aware at the time that her actions constituted a crime.

The defense presented mutually exclusive versions in court - the first that Saltan was provoked into committing a crime, and the second that the accused did not ask for an unlawful benefit, and that the evidence to the contrary was falsified by law enforcement. The defense lawyers tried to question the actions of the realtor who wrote the statement about the crime. Namely, that he allegedly sued to recover $14,000 under a forged contract.

During the trial in September 2024, Saltan was mobilized and enlisted as a reserve sailor in a military unit. The defense tried to suspend the HACC trial for the duration of her service. The commander was instructed to organize Lyudmyla Saltan's participation in court hearings via video conferencing from the nearest court. However, she did not contact the court and filed a motion to postpone the hearing due to her hospitalization in a medical facility.

The court did not suspend the case, as it turned out that her position as a reserve soldier did not prevent Saltan from participating in court hearings. The command of the military unit reported that the judge had never been directly involved in hostilities. As it turned out, on November 26, 2024, at 9 am, soldier Lyudmyla Saltan arrived at the territory of the unit in a state of intoxication. The medical facility confirmed her intoxication.

On February 18, 2026, the defense tried to suspend the trial, claiming that Saltan had a mental illness and was undergoing treatment. An extract from the medical record stated that the patient's mental state with anxiety and depressive symptoms was caused by the current judicial and investigative situation. And Saltan's participation in the court hearing would create a significant risk of deterioration of her mental state, increased affective manifestations and increased suicide risk.

Кирило Бойко