Former Ternopil Regional Council Chairman Set Record-Breaking Bail
The former Ternopil Regional Council Chairman, Mykhailo Holovko, who is believed to be involved in corruption crimes, was released on bail in the amount of over 15 million hryvnias. This decision was made on the eve of the final court verdict in the case, which received wide media coverage and caused a significant public outcry. According to information provided to Ukrainska Pravda by Olesya Chemerys, the final bail amount of 15,003,740 hryvnias was paid in full by Holovko himself. This was done to ensure his participation in the process before the verdict becomes legally binding, that is, within 30 days from the date of the decision. It is worth noting that these are not only monetary obligations. The court also imposed a number of additional obligations on the accused. According to the decision, Holovko must maintain his presence within the Ternopil region, not travel outside its borders without the court's permission, and notify the investigative authorities of any changes in his place of residence or work. Another important point is the obligation to surrender his passport for travel abroad to the State Migration Service office in Ternopil region, if available. In addition, Holovko is required to wear an electronic means of control to ensure compliance with the conditions of the preventive measure. This decision was the logical conclusion of a series of court proceedings that lasted several months and had a wide public resonance. The Supreme Anti-Corruption Court recently found the former head of the Ternopil regional council guilty of corruption and sentenced him to 9 years in prison with confiscation of property. This decision was made as part of the investigation of a criminal case that the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court opened against Holovko and his deputies back in 2023. The background to the events is striking. Last summer, Mykhailo Golovko was detained in the course of an investigation into his receiving illegal benefits. According to the investigation, in January-June 2023, he, together with two deputies of the Ternopil Military-Civil Administration, demanded almost 1.8 million hryvnias from an entrepreneur. For this money, they promised not to prevent the signing of documents on the implementation of construction and repair works on infrastructure facilities owned by the regional utility. Golovko was detained in June 2023, initially a preventive measure in the form of arrest was chosen for him with the possibility of posting bail in the amount of 805 thousand hryvnias. After posting bail, he was released with a written undertaking not to leave. However, in August of the same year, the court renewed Golovko as chairman of the regional council, but a few hours later the deputies dismissed him again. In February 2024, new suspicions arose. When providing information about his assets, Golovko did not declare assets worth more than 2 million hryvnias, which became an additional reason for initiating a criminal case. The story of his colleague, Ihor Haiduk, Deputy Head of the Ternopil Regional State Administration, who in March was sentenced by the Supreme Court of Criminal Appeals to 8 years and 2 months in prison for attempting to receive a bribe of 1.8 million hryvnias, was much more widespread. His case also became a vivid example of the fight against systemic corruption in the region by law enforcement agencies. Overall, this series of trials demonstrated the intensification of the anti-corruption fight in Ukraine and is a signal to other officials that corruption crimes do not go unpunished. The final decision regarding Golovko, as well as further trials in this case, will be analyzed in detail by the public and critics, because it is such crimes that destroy trust in state institutions and negatively affect the development of the region and the country as a whole.