On Monday, June 2, at 14:30, another court hearing will take place in the case of People's Deputy Serhiy Kuzminykh, accused of abuse of influence and bribery. The case of the People's Deputy is obviously an example of a deep corruption crisis in the state, according to political analyst Serhiy Shabovta. In a comment to UNN, he questioned the morality of the accused People's Deputy holding office and his work in the Committee on Health of the Nation, Medical Care and Medical Insurance.
According to Shabovta, the fact that MPs who are facing corruption charges in court do not resign from their positions negatively affects the image of the Ukrainian parliament and the state as a whole.
Yes, it tarnishes the image of Ukraine. We are so deeply sick with corruption that people who go into power are already potentially corrupt. They go there not to serve, but to earn
A particular dissonance, according to him, is caused by the situation when a deputy, accused of lobbying for money for the interests of a private company in the medical field, continues to work in the parliamentary committee responsible for health policy.
There is also such a dissonance - healthcare and the medical field. That is, unfortunately, corruption is much more powerful than public morality in Ukraine. Because public morality has unfortunately been destroyed. And it has been destroyed by corruption, because power, money - they have long replaced all the ideals of a moral society
He also draws attention to the inability of the parliament to self-cleanse: "Are the people's deputies themselves able to make decisions that will punish themselves? Of course not. Laws are often tailored to those who need to be protected."
At the same time, according to the expert, the law enforcement system is not fulfilling its purpose, but has become an instrument for serving the "ruling clans" and putting pressure on business.
It should be noted that law enforcement officers should more thoroughly monitor the activities of parliamentarians, especially those under investigation, in particular for lobbying for business interests.
Let us remind you
Serhiy Kuzminykh repeatedly ignored the meeting of the High Anti-Corruption Court under the pretext of a business trip to Moldova in order to strengthen inter-parliamentary cooperation. As UNN explained in the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, the People's Deputy was not obliged to surrender his foreign passports and inform the prosecution about leaving the country.
Former Deputy Prosecutor General, lawyer Oleksiy Baganets, in a comment to UNN, noted that the prosecution should ask the court to change Kuzminykh's preventive measure to detention due to his failure to fulfill his procedural duties.
Let's add
People's Deputy, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Activities of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Health of the Nation Serhiy Kuzminykh was exposed "red-handed" while receiving an illegal benefit of 558 thousand hryvnias. According to the investigation, he received funds for assisting in the signing of contracts between private companies and one of the hospitals in the Zhytomyr region for the supply of medical equipment.
At the end of January 2022, NABU recorded the transfer of money and published a video about it. In it, a person with a voice similar to Kuzminykh's promises his assistance and adds that he can resolve the issue with all medical institutions in the region.
On January 31, 2022, the then Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova signed a suspicion for him.
Serhiy Kuzminykh was not detained due to "deputy immunity", but he ignored interrogations, which is why he was put on the wanted list. After several days of "hiding", the People's Deputy was finally detained to choose a preventive measure.
In May 2022, Kuzminykh, who, we recall, is suspected of receiving more than half a million hryvnias in bribes, was chosen as a preventive measure in the form of bail of 49 thousand 600 hryvnias. Of course, the bail for the people's choice was paid.
In September 2022, the indictment in the case against Kuzminykh was sent to the HACC for consideration on the merits. Currently, the stage of evidence examination is underway. During this time, the People's Deputy repeatedly ignored court hearings.