Judges of the HACC and HQCJ demand preferential loans for housing despite fraud with official apartments and corruption - expert

The High Anti-Corruption Court, despite scandals with official housing, has planned UAH 60 million for this year's purchase of official housing. In addition, the HCJ is demanding that the Cabinet of Ministers provide preferential loans at 3% for judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court, members of the High Council of Justice and the High Qualification Commission of Judges, who receive salaries of hundreds of thousands of hryvnias. Political expert Oleh Posternak wrote about this.

"HACC judges, members of the HCJ and HQCJ with salaries in the hundreds of thousands of hryvnias, despite fraud with official housing and corruption, urgently demand preferential housing loans. Thus, the High Council of Justice has publicly appealed to the Cabinet of Ministers to include its representatives and other worthy people in the list of beneficiaries entitled to mortgage loans at a fixed annual rate of 3% in hryvnia," he wrote.

He quoted former Chief Justice Pavlo Vovk, who called it a mockery that affordable mortgage lending and preferential mortgages are available to members of the HCJ, HQCJ and Supreme Court, whose salaries amount to UAH 300-400 thousand per month.

The expert also noted that in 2025, the HACC plans to spend about UAH 60 million on the purchase of office apartments. And this is despite the recent revelations of fraud with official housing in this particular court.

"As always, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC), whose name seems to be soon to be replaced by 'High Corruption Court', has impressed the most. For example, HACC judge Markiyan Halabala illegally received official housing, despite the fact that he was provided with housing in Kyiv. Judge Vitalii Kryklyvyi was found to be involved in fraud with official housing with the help of his wife, who is also a HACC judge," he emphasized.

Bihus.info recently reported on the mass privatization of official housing by judges and police officers in its investigation, but for some reason they know nothing about the scandals in the HACC, Posternak wrote.

"Is there anything about official housing for "our anti-corruption officer" in this investigation by the Bihus and why?" the expert quotes well-known lawyer Oleh Shram, complaining that Bihus.info did not mention the HACC scandals with official housing.

Posternak also recalled the infamous HACC judge Kateryna Sikora, who, with the help of her colleagues in another court, sued the state for half a million hryvnias in compensation. At the same time, she was caught on illicit enrichment: according to the investigation, she entered false information about a number of cars, apartments (!), parking spaces that she and her family had acquired during the active administration of justice, he wrote.

"Another HACC judge, Valeriia Chorna, became the owner of a luxury car at the height of the war - a BMW X6. And her colleague, HACCU Appeals Chamber judge Mykola Glotov, bought a Tesla for almost UAH 2 million a year after the start of the full-scale invasion. And such judges don't hesitate to rent housing for free. Square meters are never superfluous. Even if you have a penthouse in the center of Kyiv or a house in the country and you are not going to live in the office. The state pays for it anyway," he said.

The expert emphasized that today, housing is primarily needed by the military and people who have lost everything because of the fighting, not by elected HACC judges and supervisory bodies such as the HCJ.

"It is not a few people who will take money from the state. This is an army of the most elite HACC judges, members of the High Council of Justice, the High Qualification Commission of Judges, employees of their secretariats, members of their families, etc. An army! Millions of public money," Posternak summarized.