Odesa lawyer fined 212 thousand for abuse of influence

The Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa found the lawyer, who was detained in February on suspicion of influence peddling, guilty and fined him UAH 212,500.

According to the court' s verdict, the lawyer made a deal with the prosecutor and pleaded guilty.

The amount of the fine imposed on the accused is higher than the maximum fine provided for in part 2 of Article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - it is equal to 12.5 tax-free minimum incomes, and the maximum fine provided for in this part is 5.5 thousand tax-free minimums. However, it also provides for imprisonment for a term of two to five years.

On February 25, 2025, the man received $5,000 from his client's mother in exchange for which he promised to influence the judge. The fact is that his client was accused of illegal handling of weapons and faced imprisonment for a term of three to seven years.

The lawyer told his client that he had worked in law enforcement for a long time and had the ability to influence the court. She believed him. However, on November 27, the police reported that they had detained the lawyer.

This is not the first time that a plea deal with the investigation has helped an accused get off with either a shorter prison term or a fine. For example, the Savransky District Court of Odesa Region approved an agreement between the prosecutor and former Bakshany village head Petro Tarabanchuk on the latter's plea of guilty to taking a bribe. He was sentenced to five years in prison, but his actual sentence was commuted to three years' probation.

In July, the Prymorskyi District Court of Odesa approved an agreement between the prosecutor of the Bilyayiv District Prosecutor's Office and Bohdan Lozian, former deputy head of the Southern Interregional Forestry and Hunting Department of the State Forestry Agency, to plead guilty to bribery. Under the agreement, Bohdan Lozian's six-year prison sentence with disqualification to hold positions related to the exercise of government functions for three years without confiscation of property was replaced by a three-year probation period.

Кирило Бойко