Kyiv court acquits Kivalov's son-in-law and former deputy prosecutor in bribery case

Acquittal after 11 years of investigation

The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv delivered a verdict in a high-profile case that lasted nearly 11 years. The panel of judges found former deputy prosecutor of Podilskyi District Oleksiy Bilyi and former prosecutor of the same department Serhiy Nechyporenko not guilty. The latter is the son-in-law of former People's Deputy Kivalov.

The charges involved demanding and receiving an improper benefit in the amount of 150,000 US dollars. These funds were supposed to be a reward for closing a criminal case. The verdict was issued under Part 1, Clause 1 of Article 373 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine: the court concluded that the fact of the crime was not proven.

Details of the indictment

According to the investigation, the events took place in autumn 2015. At that time, Bilyi, holding the position of deputy prosecutor, had influence over criminal case No. 42014100070000148, which concerned the registration of rights to a municipal premises in Kyiv. Nechyporenko was no longer working in that prosecutor's office at the time, but, according to the prosecution, it was he who made the demand for money and accepted it.

The suspects were detained on 30 November 2015. On the same day, the prosecutor issued a ruling to close the case. According to the act, Nechyporenko handed over a document and received a bag with money in a car near a house in Lukianivka. The National Bank of Ukraine's exchange rate on that date was 3.6 hryvnia per dollar.

Initially, according to the investigation, 200,000 dollars were demanded, but after negotiations in a restaurant, the amount was reduced to 150,000.

Prosecution and defence

Oleksiy Bilyi was charged with receiving an improper benefit by a public official in a responsible position, committed by a group of persons with extortion (Part 4, Article 368 of the Criminal Code). Serhiy Nechyporenko was accused of aiding in the commission of this crime (Part 5, Article 27, Part 4, Article 368 of the Criminal Code). Both defendants denied their guilt.

Why the court did not believe the evidence

The court panel examined the chain of evidence in detail and identified critical gaps. The main reasons for the acquittal were the following factors:

• Provocative nature of actions. The court noted that before the complainant's appeal to law enforcement agencies, no objective signs of bribery were recorded. Subsequent actions were initiated by the complainant, and after his involvement in confidential cooperation, they were carried out under the control of operatives. The court explicitly called this a provocation.
• Lack of influence on the decision. The prosecutor who closed the case on 30 November 2015 stated in court that he made the decision independently. He did not confirm that Bilyi pressured him.
• Undocumented transfer of acts. The prosecution built a chain of transfer of the ruling: from the procedural prosecutor to Bilyi, then to Nechyporenko and the complainant. The court did not see admissible recording of any of these stages. Although the original and copies later ended up in the case materials, there is no separate protocol of receiving documents from the complainant. For a controlled operation, the absence of video recording or a transfer protocol was considered critical by the court.
• Doubts regarding the money. Only the sum of 20,000 dollars was real. The rest consisted of 1,300 imitation banknotes with a denomination of 100 dollars. The protocol of inspection and handover of the "marked" funds did not withstand verification for reliability. The moment of handing over the bag was not recorded, so the court could not establish what exactly was in it at the time of transfer.