Chernyshov under the burden of financial bail: SAPO requests 120 million hryvnias from the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court
Accusations in the case of abuse of office and bribery - the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court is to consider a preventive measure for Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Unity Oleksiy Chernyshov, who is currently at the center of a high-profile investigation. According to sources, the prosecutor's office of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office plans to apply to the court with a request to set a bail of 120 million hryvnias for the Deputy Prime Minister. This amount, as emphasized in the SAPO, is significant and will probably be paid, although the process has not yet been officially completed. Analysis of the situation shows that the prosecution is clearly determined to demand bail, although the day before, a discourse opened in legal circles regarding a possible alternative scenario - arrest or house arrest. Deputy Head of the SAPO Serhiy Buylenko confirmed in a comment to journalists that the prosecutor's office expects to post bail, taking into account current practice and the importance of the case. Background: On Tuesday, June 20, the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court postponed consideration of the issue of choosing a preventive measure for Chernyshov to June 26, citing his participation in an extraordinary government meeting. At the same time, a few days earlier — on June 24 — the Ukrinform newspaper, citing internal sources, reported that SAPO prosecutors would ask the court to set bail without mandatory arrest for the vice prime minister. Earlier: On June 13, NABU detectives and SAPO employees published the results of a joint special operation in the construction industry, which, according to them, could have caused losses to the state of over a billion hryvnia. According to analysts, this case involves not only Chernyshov, but also other high-ranking officials: in particular, former State Secretary of the Ministry of Regional Development Vasyl Volodin and his former adviser Maksym Gorbatyuk. Chernyshov himself was abroad at the time of the revelation, which was confirmed by official statements. UP sources in law enforcement and political circles report that Chernyshov was recently searched. At that time, he was on a business trip abroad as part of a planned trip, which he confirmed personally, noting that he was in the European Union. Later, on June 21, President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed the opinion that Chernyshov should complete his business trip abroad and return to Ukraine. According to information received from sources, at the end of last week, the Deputy Prime Minister’s family left the country amid the tense situation in the case. At the same time, businessman and co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio Timur Mindich is allegedly planning a meeting with Chernyshov to convince him to return to Ukraine within the terms announced by the president. Stop: On June 22, Chernyshov announced that he had already returned from a foreign trip and planned to return to his duties in the Cabinet of Ministers on June 23. The next day, he appeared at the NABU for an interview. The circumstances surrounding this story will keep the political and law enforcement elite in suspense for a long time, as the case of extortion of bribes and abuse of office in the midst of political and legal processes has taken a new turn. The court proceedings and decisions on the preventive measure will likely determine the future fate of the deputy prime minister and will have a significant impact on the overall course of anti-corruption policy in the country.