Judge Valentyn Zaveriukha Faces Pre-Trial Restraint for Bribery Scheme in Odesa

The High Anti-Corruption Court has imposed a pre-trial restraint on Valentyn Zaveriukha, a judge of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City District Court of Odesa Oblast, with an alternative to bail. He is accused of involvement in schemes to evade conscription and smuggle conscripts abroad.

As it became known from the HACC session on April 16, the judge partially granted the prosecutor's motion to impose a preventive measure on the accused.

According to the ruling, he was ordered to be held in custody for 60 days - until June 16, 2021. The suspect was taken into custody directly in the courtroom.

However, the court also set an alternative measure of restraint in the form of bail in the amount of 580 subsistence minimums for able-bodied persons, which is UAH 1,756,240.

If bail is granted, the suspect is subject to the following obligations

• not to leave Odesa region without the permission of the investigator, prosecutor or court;
• report any change of place of residence or work;
• refrain from communicating with persons of procedural importance to the criminal proceedings;
• to deposit a passport for traveling abroad;
• wear an electronic bracelet.

A judge of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City District Court is accused of facilitating the departure abroad of men subject to mobilization. According to the investigation, the judge, in collusion with his colleagues, received large-scale bribes and helped evade mobilization. This involved issuing fictitious divorces with the subsequent deprivation of the mother's right to raise the child in favor of the father. This allowed men to travel abroad.

In January 2025, Valentyn Zaveriukha was temporarily suspended from the administration of justice based on a decision of the First Disciplinary Chamber of the HCJ.

Prior to that, the High Council of Justice considered a petition filed by Valentyn Zaveriukha, a judge of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City District Court of Odesa Oblast. He asked to suspend the disciplinary case against him, citing his mobilization to the Armed Forces.

In January 2024, the SBU, together with the NABU, detained a judge of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Court of Odesa Oblast. According to the investigation, the judge took bribes of $3,500 for making decisions that allowed men of conscription age to avoid mobilization and go abroad. The scheme was in place since April 2022. During this time, more than a thousand such decisions were "formalized". The court fictitiously determined the place of residence of the children for the men, which allowed them to receive a deferral from mobilization. The scheme involved court employees, a lawyer, and intermediaries. The lawyer searched for clients and passed on bribes.

Ірина Глухова