Odesa judge Saltan, convicted in March, was dismissed in June

The High Council of Justice has decided to dismiss Lyudmyla Saltan from the position of judge of the Kyiv District Court of Odesa.

This was reported by the HCJ press service.

The judge was dismissed on the basis of paragraph 3 of part six of Article 126 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which provides that the grounds for dismissal of a judge are committing a significant disciplinary offense, gross or systematic neglect of duties that is incompatible with the status of a judge or has revealed his or her incompatibility with the position.

In the case of judge Lyudmyla Saltan, the reason was that in March the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine found her guilty of taking a bribe. She was sentenced to 6 years' imprisonment with disqualification from holding public office for 3 years.

The court also partially confiscated her privately owned property: a residential building with a total area of 451.4 square meters in Odesa region and an AUDI Q8 car. The term of imprisonment will be calculated from the moment of actual detention.

Liudmyla Saltan told the plaintiff about the bribe right in her office. The judge emphasized that the money should be brought as soon as possible, as she would soon be going on vacation. The plaintiff did not want to bribe the judge and filed a complaint with the NABU.

In June, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) refused to order an expert examination in the case of judge Lyudmyla Saltan of the Kyiv District Court of Odesa, who is accused of taking a $4,000 bribe.

On March 29, 2023, the judge was exposed by NABU detectives jointly with the SBU immediately after she received the money. According to the investigation, the judge received USD 4 thousand for making a positive decision in favor of a citizen in a civil case.

On April 13, the HACC investigating judge, at the request of NABU detectives, agreed upon by the SAPO prosecutor, imposed a bail of two million hryvnias on the judge.

The investigation was completed on May 22. The NABU detectives were instructed to open the case file to the defense, and after the defense lawyers and the suspect had reviewed the case file, the case was sent to court.

In September, the court questioned witnesses in the Saltan case. Prosecutors read out the correspondence between the judge and the plaintiff, where they agreed on a meeting place to transfer the money. It shows that the judge demanded not 4, but 5 thousand dollars. Baranytskyi, according to the prosecution, brought part of the amount to the specified meeting place. The money was transferred in the judge's own car, an Audi Q8.

Кирило Бойко