Due to the failure of the procedural obligations by the accused in bribery, People's Deputy Serhiy Kuzminykh, the prosecution must ask the court to change his measure of restraint to detention. This opinion was expressed in an exclusive comment to UNN by the former Deputy Prosecutor General, lawyer Oleksiy Bahanets.
Serhiy Kuzminykh has ignored the meeting of the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court several times in a row under the pretext of a business trip to Moldova in order to strengthen inter-parliamentary cooperation. As explained to UNN in the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, the MP was not obliged to surrender his foreign passports and notify the prosecution of his departure abroad. The next court hearing is scheduled for Monday, May 26, at 2:30 p.m.
I am interested in why, in the presence of such a crime, sorry, especially a corruption one, in which he is suspected, why was he not imposed with such a procedural obligation as a ban, for example, to travel abroad, to surrender foreign passports? This is a mistake of the investigating judge. Or maybe such questions were not asked, let's say, by the prosecutor in this process, it is difficult for me to say. But I believe that this is a puncture and it can be restored by appealing to the same prosecutor to the investigating judge, especially if the case is being considered on the merits, then to the judge with a petition to change the measure of restraint
According to him, due to the fact that Serhiy Kuzminykh ignores court hearings, he violates the obligations imposed on him. Therefore, according to the former Deputy Prosecutor General, the prosecution should appeal to the court to change the measure of restraint, for example, to detention.
"This is not prohibited by law. It clearly states that if the suspect does not fulfill the obligations imposed on him, his measure of restraint may be changed to detention," Bahanets explained.
In addition, in his opinion, the prosecution should ask the court for a forced appearance of the MP at the meeting, if he continues to ignore the court.
And is it possible, for example, to apply a forced привод to him at the meeting, if you ignore the meeting several times in a row?
"In this situation, if I were a prosecutor in the process, I would appeal to the presiding judge with a petition to change the measure of restraint. Even my such initiative would force him to attend court hearings," Bahanets summarized.
Let us remind you
People's Deputy, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Activities of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Health Serhiy Kuzminykh was exposed "red-handed" while receiving illegal benefits in the amount 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 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 to 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 a few days of "hiding", the People's Deputy was finally detained for the election of 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 in the amount of 49 thousand 600 hryvnias. Of course, a deposit was made for the people's choice.
In September 2022, the indictment in the case against Kuzminykh was sent to the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court for consideration on the merits. The stage of evidence examination is currently underway. During this time, the People's Deputy has repeatedly ignored court hearings.