Andrey Portnov
Pechersk District Court staff are attempting to block the Prosecutor General's Office's investigation into the actions of judges of the Kyiv Commercial Court, Alla Prygunova, Olga Gulevets, and Anna Bondarenko, suspected of extorting a bribe, GAZETA.ua reports.
According to the publication's sources, officials at the Pechersk Court were passing information about the investigation's progress to suspects, which resulted in the thwarted operation to apprehend judges red-handed while accepting bribes. According to the publication's source in the law enforcement agency, only a few officials at the Pechersk Court knew about the planned operation to apprehend the bribe-takers red-handed. One of these officials alerted the intermediary and the judges by phone, and the transfer of funds was prevented.
At the same time, as the Prosecutor General's Office noted to GAZETA.ua , the investigation has evidence of bribery preparations obtained during operational activities and searches of judges' offices. Penalties under Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code, under which the actions of Alla Prygunova, Olga Gulevets, and Anna Bondarenko are being investigated, carry sentences of five to ten years in prison. These penalties apply not only for the actual receipt of an improper benefit by an official but also for accepting an offer to receive such a benefit.
As a reminder, on December 23, searches were conducted in the offices of Kyiv Commercial Court judges Alla Prygunova and Olga Gulevets. The third person involved in the investigation conducted by the Prosecutor General's Office is another Kyiv Commercial Court judge, Anna Bondarenko. These judges are suspected of extorting a $22 bribe from a representative of a Kyiv company, whose case is being heard in the Kyiv Commercial Court.
According to media reports, Alla Prygunova and Olga Gulevets are considered Andriy Portnov's protégés in the Ukrainian judicial system. The Pechersk District Court, in turn, is known as the court where Portnov won nine lawsuits against the Prosecutor General's Office. Most of the Pechersk Court's judges were appointed between 2010 and 2013 with the consent of Portnov, who then served as Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration and Head of the Main Directorate for Judicial Reform and Judicial System.
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