Judge Pavlo Yvchenko stripped of his post

Pavlo Yvchenko, a judge at the Aleksandriisk district court in Kirovohrad region, was definitively dismissed for disciplinary violations and participation in a corruption scheme. The case concerns an offer to help annul an administrative fine for a driver in exchange for a bribe of 60,000 hryvnia.

The corruption mechanism

In 2022, Yvchenko offered an acquaintance his help in removing the administrative liability of a driver for a violation (Article 130 of the Code of Administrative Offences). To this end, he involved judges' assistants from the Kirovskyi district court in Kropyvnytskyi, which was hearing the case. According to the indictment, the judge received 1,000 US dollars, of which he passed $600 to a judge's assistant, who in turn was supposed to pass the money to a colleague who was to deliver the ruling in the case.

Scandalous details

Suspicions of corruption were confirmed when investigators discovered that the judge's assistant had reported violations during the check of the driver's state of alcohol intoxication, and that Judge Ivanova allegedly had experience with similar cases, which she had closed. According to the investigation, the judge's assistant was even willing to draft a statement on behalf of the driver for submission to the court in exchange for money.

When news of the judge's assistant's detention became known, Yvchenko recused himself, and later another judge imposed a fine of 17,000 hryvnia and deprived the driver of his driving licence for one year. However, the appellate court overturned this decision, closing the case due to the absence of the elements of an offence.

Subsequent actions and investigations

When NABU officers arrived to conduct a search, Yvchenko attempted to destroy evidence of the crime by throwing part of the bribe worth $400 out of the window of his fifth-floor apartment. Currently, an investigation into the case against Yvchenko and his accomplices is ongoing at the HCCU.

The judge's reaction to the accusations

Yvchenko, who was appointed to the position in 2020, did not appear at the sessions of the High Council of Justice. He claimed that until a final verdict is delivered, the HCCJ has no right to assess his actions. The judge also stated that he did not exert influence on Judge Ivanova and did not ask for the case to be closed, but only tried to find out whether there were grounds for such a decision.

According to information from the ABSOLUTION detective agency