MP Kuzminykh, accused of bribery, who ignored two court hearings due to a trip abroad, did not receive permission for it - SAP

People's Deputy Serhiy Kuzminykh, accused of bribery, did not receive permission to travel abroad. This was reported by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office in response to a request from UNN.

The accused mentioned in the request (Serhiy Kuzminykh – ed.) and his lawyers did not apply to the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office for permission to travel abroad. We also inform you that the SAP prosecutor did not grant such permission

 At the same time, the agency noted that, according to the ruling of the Appeals Chamber of the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court of June 27, 2022, Kuzminykh has the following obligations:

- to arrive at the investigators (detectives) conducting the pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings, and the prosecutors who supervise the observance of laws during the pre-trial investigation in the form of procedural guidance, at the first request;

- to refrain from visiting the premises used by CI "Hospital No. 2 named after V.P. Pavlusenko" of the Zhytomyr City Council", except in cases of seeking medical assistance for the accused and close members of his family.

Today, in accordance with the provisions of Art. 42 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, the accused is obliged to appear in court when summoned. This obligation is indefinite

In addition, it is indicated that the accused should not inform the prosecutor about his movements within Ukraine or abroad.

At the same time, as UNN previously informed, Serhiy Kuzminykh ignored two court hearings in a row. The last one was ignored under the pretext of a business trip to Moldova to allegedly deepen inter-parliamentary cooperation.

"The issue of the validity of the reasons for his failure to appear at the court hearing on May 14 and 19, 2025 will be decided by the court after receiving all documents from the defense. After that, if necessary, criminal proceedings measures may be applied," the anti-corruption prosecutor's office commented on the behavior of the people's deputy accused of bribery.

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 an illegal benefit of 558 thousand hryvnias. According to the investigation, he received funds for facilitating 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 issues with all medical institutions in the region. 

On January 31, 2022, the then Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova signed a suspicion notice 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 several days of "hiding", the people's deputy was still detained for the election of a preventive measure.

In May 2022, Kuzminykh, who, we remind you, is suspected of receiving more than half a million hryvnias in bribes, was chosen as a preventive measure in the form of a bail of 49 thousand 600 hryvnias. Of course, a bail was paid 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. Currently, the stage of evidence examination is underway. During this time, the people's deputy repeatedly ignored court hearings.