The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has granted a motion to put MP from the Servant of the People party, Andriy Odarchenko , on the international wanted list. The suspect could have fled abroad. This was reported by Komersant ukrainskyi
with reference to the court session.
The NABU noted that on 18 September 2024, Odarchenko failed to appear before the High Anti-Corruption Court.
The MP did not inform the court or the prosecutor about the reasons for his absence. The defence lawyers of the accused also failed to inform the court about the whereabouts of their client and emphasise the lack of communication with him.
According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), the MP’s car remained in the same place, but the driver lives in the apartment. According to the latter, Odarchenko has not been at home since Tuesday (17 September) and has not been in touch.
In addition, according to border guards, the MP did not officially cross the border.
In view of this, the prosecutor initiated in court the issue of collecting the bail set as a preventive measure for the MP, imposing a monetary penalty on him, and putting him on the wanted list.
The motion to forfeit the bail and change the measure of restraint to a more stringent one will be considered on 23 September 2024.
What Andrii Odarchenko is suspected of
In November 2023, the NABU served Andriy Odarchenko with a notice of suspicion for attempting to bribe Mustafa Nayem, head of the State Agency for Reconstruction, in bitcoins. According to the agency, in return for the money, the MP asked for a decision to allocate money from the fund for the elimination of the consequences of Russian aggression to repair the buildings of the university where the MP was rector at the time.
In addition, the prosecutor’s office published his conversation with Nayem. In it, the MP said that he did not believe in Ukraine’s victory, and that Volodymyr Zelenskyy would be forced to negotiate with Russia, so the president wanted to hold elections before then.
Odarchenko himself stated that he had spoken to Nayem on “various topics” on several occasions, did not offer a bribe, and allegedly asked him to teach him how to use a crypto wallet.
The following day, the court imposed a pre-trial restraint in the form of detention with the possibility of bail in the amount of UAH 15 million.
on 23 November 2023, the Servant of the People suspended Odarchenko’s membership in the faction.
“This is a standard procedure that we apply in such cases. The final decision on him will be made based on the results of the investigation,” said party chairwoman Olena Shulyak.
On 24 November, the suspect exercised his right to be released on bail.
