NABU and SAPO prepare to arrest and remove Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshov in corruption case
Anti-corruption bodies — the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) — have filed a petition with the High Anti-Corruption Court to apply a preventive measure to the current Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov in the form of a bail of 120 million hryvnias. In addition, the prosecutor's office demands to remove him from office due to well-founded suspicions of abuse of office and receiving illegal benefits. This is another cycle of developments in the case, which attracts the attention of society and political circles. Sources in the NABU press service report that the petition was sent to the High Anti-Corruption Court — the High Anti-Corruption Court. The official statement contains documentary justifications: it states that the motive is not only possible evasion from the investigation and obstruction of the investigation, but also the risk of flight from the country. The document also mentions the need to prevent possible pressure and influence on witnesses, given the high degree of social and political importance of the person involved. According to information published in the press service, the petition mentions specific duties that the suspect must fulfill: to regularly appear when summoned by investigators, prosecutors and the court, to report a change of residence, to refrain from any contact with possible witnesses and other suspects in this case, to hand over passports for possible travel abroad, and to wear an electronic monitoring device - a tracking bracelet. Another important point is the removal of Chernyshov from the post of Deputy Prime Minister. This decision is supported by anti-corruption authorities in the context of maintaining the stability of the investigation and preventing influence on the course of the case. According to official reports, the consideration of the petition will take place on June 27, 2025, and the venue is Beresteysky Avenue, 41, courtroom No. 5. The trial will be held in open court, and the defendants will be able to present their arguments. The background to this high-profile event began a week earlier, when information appeared about the exposure of a large-scale corruption transaction in the construction sector, which could have caused damage to the budget in the amount of more than a billion hryvnias. Five people were notified of the suspicion, two of whom were specifically connected to Chernyshov: former State Secretary of the Ministry of Regional Development Vasyl Volodin and former advisor to the minister Maksym Horbatyuk. According to UP sources and media, searches are currently underway, and the Deputy Prime Minister himself was abroad at the time of the crime. According to official reports from the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers, he was on a planned foreign trip to the countries of the European Union. It has been officially confirmed that after the trip, Chernyshov will return to his duties. However, according to deputies and law enforcement officers, at the end of last week, invitations appeared for Chernyshov to appear at the NABU on June 23 to receive a suspicion. This information is also confirmed by sources - the deputy prime minister's family allegedly went abroad a few days ago, and the official himself, having returned from the trip, visited the NABU on June 23, where he was officially handed a suspicion. It is expected that the consideration of the case at the Supreme Court of Criminal Appeals will become a key point in the investigation, which has already caused a wide resonance in society. This is another demonstration that high-ranking officials of Ukraine are not immune to the fight against corruption, especially in the context of suspicions of abuse of office and illegal financial embezzlement, which reduces the level of trust in the authorities and contributes to strengthening the Rule of Law.