MP Kuzminykh, accused of bribery, continues to attend meetings of the "Servant of the People" faction, which he allegedly left

Serhiy Kuzminykh, a People's Deputy accused of receiving more than half a million in bribes, continues to attend meetings of the "Servant of the People" faction despite having submitted a statement in 2022 about his temporary withdrawal from the faction for the duration of the investigation into his case. This became known during a court hearing, writes UNN.

The presiding judge announced that the session would last until 6:30 PM. "Honorable court, a faction meeting is taking place at this time," Kuzminykh stated.

The People's Deputy entered parliament with the "Servant of the People" party, but after the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine exposed him for bribery, he temporarily withdrew from the faction, having written a corresponding statement in February 2022.

So, apparently, this was just a statement on paper, and in practice, he continues to work in the "Servant of the People" faction.

During the session, Kuzminykh provided the court with a certificate from the hospital stating that he was hospitalized from August 9 to 12 in a moderately severe condition. When asked by the judge whether he could participate in the previous session in person, offline or via video link, the People's Deputy said no, because his pancreatitis had worsened.

The prosecutor noted that the certificate did not specify whether Kuzminykh could participate in the session. Therefore, the court decided to send a request to the hospital in Zhytomyr, where Kuzminykh was staying, to clarify this issue.

During the session, Kuzminykh, apparently in order to delay the court proceedings, asked the court to postpone the session, as a state-appointed lawyer had been assigned to him and he allegedly had not spoken with him before the session. It should be noted that lawyer Aliyev participated in the previous session and had already spoken with his client. The court announced a short break for Kuzminykh to speak with the state-appointed lawyer.

Apparently realizing that postponing the session would not be possible, the contract lawyer Volodymyr Krasovsky filed a motion to recuse the panel of judges, but the court denied it.

The court continued to examine the evidence in the case, including verifying the banknotes that were given to Serhiy Kuzminykh as an illicit benefit for assisting one of the medical equipment suppliers in winning a tender for the supply of an ultrasound machine to one of the Zhytomyr hospitals.

In addition, the court examined phones that contained correspondence between People's Deputy Kuzminykh and the former head of the tender committee, NABU agent, driver Maksym Tokov, as well as Minister of Health Viktor Liashko.

Recall

People's Deputy, head of the subcommittee on pharmacy and pharmaceutical activities of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Health Serhiy Kuzminykh was caught "red-handed" while receiving an illicit benefit of 558 thousand hryvnias. According to the investigation, he received the funds for assisting in signing 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 issues with all medical institutions in the region. 

On January 31, 2022, then-Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova signed a suspicion notice for him. Serhiy Kuzminykh was not detained due to "deputy immunity," but he ignored interrogations, which led to him being declared wanted. After several days of "hiding," the People's Deputy was still detained for the selection of a preventive measure.

In May 2022, Kuzminykh was chosen a preventive measure in the form of bail of 49,600 hryvnias. Of course, the bail for the people's deputy 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. However, the consideration of the case is being delayed, in particular, due to Kuzminykh's frequent non-appearance. According to information provided by the HACC, the People's Deputy missed 22 court hearings