People's Deputy of Ukraine of the IX convocation, accused of giving a bribe to the head of the State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure was supposed to appear at the High Anti-Corruption Court on September 18. However, he did not show up and did not give reasons for his absence.
This was reported by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO).
Trial of Odarchenko
The MP's lawyers also failed to inform the court where their client is and note that they have no contact with him. The SAP initiated the collection of bail and the announcement of the MP's search. The court decided to apply for the arrest of MP Odarchenko for the next court hearing, which is scheduled for September 19.
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During the hearing on the case of MP Andriy Odarchenko, the SAP prosecutor stated that the MP had left the territory of Ukraine, probably through the Zakarpattia region. It was there that Odarchenko went in the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion, the Anti-Corruption Action Center reports.
In Zakarpattia, the MP from Servant of the People established close relations with the then head of the Zakarpattia Regional State Administration, Viktor Mykyta, who has now been appointed deputy chairman of the Office of President Yermak.
That is why the prosecutor filed a motion with the court to recover bail and put MP Andriy Odarchenko on the international wanted list. The defense called these motions premature and believes that the reasons for the failure to appear may be valid.
It is worth noting that MP Andriy Odarchenko was not at work in the Verkhovna Rada yesterday and the day before yesterday.
What is Andriy Odarchenko suspected of
On November 21, 2023, SAP and NABU reported suspicion to the MP, who tried to bribe the head of the State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure Mustafa Nayem. The MP's actions were qualified under Part 4 of Art. 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Offer or promise to an official to provide him or a third party with an unlawful benefit).
The people's deputy offered a bribe to Naiem for the working group to make a decision to allocate funds from the fund for the liquidation of the consequences of armed aggression for the repair of buildings of the university, where the people's deputy continues to hold the position of rector (whose contract has been suspended). The proposed amount of undue benefit was to be 8% of the funding volume.
Andriy Odarchenko then provided the top official with a part of the bribe in the amount of 0.39 bitcoin, which at that time was equivalent to 10 thousand dollars.
On November 22, 2023, the investigating judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court applied a preventive measure to Odarchenko in the form of detention with the alternative of posting bail of 15 million UAH. The MP paid the bail and surrendered his passports. However, an electronic bracelet was not placed on Odarchenko.
