Court sentences ex-head of investigation department of Prosecutor General's Office Scherbyna to six years in prison
The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has sentenced an individual to 6 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property for inciting the provision of an undue benefit amounting to $150,000 to the former director of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), reported the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO).
"On June 26, 2024, the HACC panel of judges announced a guilty verdict to an individual who incited the provision of an undue benefit amounting to $150,000 to the former director of the SBI, allegedly for closing a criminal case investigated by the territorial department of the SBI," the SAPO said in a statement on its Telegram channel on Wednesday.
According to the court's verdict, the individual was found guilty of committing crimes under Part 4 of Article 190, Part 2 of Article 15, Part 4 of Article 27, Part 4 of Article 369, and Part 1 of Article 263 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The person was sentenced to six years of imprisonment with confiscation of property owned by them. Additionally, the court stripped the individual of the rank of Senior Counselor of Justice.
The individual was taken into custody in the courtroom to serve the sentence.
The court's verdict will come into force in 30 days from the date of its announcement, if not appealed.
The name of the person is not mentioned in the report, but according to Interfax-Ukraine, it concerns the former head of the Main Investigative Department of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, Ihor Scherbyna.
As reported, on December 3, 2019, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) conducted searches related to possible abuses in the State Bureau of Investigation.
Searches were conducted, in particular, at the workplace and residence of Scherbyna.
On December 3, NABU detectives, in agreement with SAPO prosecutors, notified Scherbyna and a construction entrepreneur, who were caught receiving a $75,000 undue benefit, of suspicion of committing crimes under Part 4 of Article 190, Part 2 of Article 15, Part 4 of Article 27, and Part 4 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
According to investigators, the former Prosecutor General's Office official, through the mediation of the construction entrepreneur, demanded $150,000 in undue benefit from a Kyiv-based developer company, allegedly for further transfer to the former SBI director.
The former SBI director was allegedly supposed to ensure the closure of a criminal case being investigated by the territorial department of the agency regarding the actions of the mentioned company in exchange for the money.