Attempted bribery of Odesa judge: case sent to court

On Dec. 27, 2022, NABU and SAPO referred the case to court, accusing a lawyer and an assistant judge of the Odesa Court of Appeal of an attempt to bribe a judge of the same court with USD 1.7 thousand. The lawyer's actions fall under Part 2 Art. 15, Part 4 Art. 27, Part 3 Art. 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and the actions of the assistant judge - under Part 2 Art. 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

As established, the lawyer incited his client to bribe the judge of the Odesa Court of Appeal. She said USD 1.7 thousand would be enough to "negotiate" the cancellation of the decision regarding her client in an administrative offense case. After the lawyer got the money, she offered USD 1.5 thousand to the assistant judge to "deal" with the judge. He agreed and took the money, but failed to implement his plan. As it turned out, the judge did not know about the assistant's actions at all.

In September 2022, the lawyer and the assistant judge were exposed red-handed and notified of suspicion. In November 2022, the case file was disclosed to the defense for perusal.

According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is considered non-guilty in the commission of a crime and cannot be subject to criminal punishment until he or she is found guilty by court.