In the Odesa region, the head of a district court was caught taking a bribe in exchange for a lenient ruling on a DUI charge

In the Odesa region, the chief judge of one of the district courts is suspected of accepting a bribe in exchange for a ruling in a case involving driving under the influence of alcohol. According to the investigation, the judge promised to help a woman avoid administrative liability in exchange for a monetary reward.

This was reported by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.

Based on the findings of the pretrial investigation, the case involved a violation of Part 1 of Article 130 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses. This article establishes liability for driving a vehicle while intoxicated.

The investigation established that the judge had promised, in exchange for money, to rule in the citizen’s favor. He was caught on November 7 immediately after receiving the agreed-upon funds. The operation was carried out by detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau in cooperation with the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police in the Odesa region.

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PHOTO: SAP

Information regarding the criminal offense was entered into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations on November 6. And on November 9, acting on the instructions of the head of the SAP, the prosecutor notified the court’s president of the suspicion.

The judge’s actions were classified under Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—receipt of an unlawful benefit by a public official.

The SAP did not disclose the suspect’s name, the name of the district court, or the amount of the unlawful benefit in its statement.

Андрій Колісніченко