Ex-Prison Official Sentenced to 6 Years for Bribe

Judges of the Poltava Court of Appeal Volodymyr Kostenko, Liliana Nizelkovska and Natalia Kharlan confirmed the verdict of the Kryukiv District Court, which sentenced a former employee of Kremenchuk Correctional Colony No. 69 to 6 years in prison for a bribe of UAH 2,000.

We will remind you that on August 8, 2022, the Kryukiv District Court of Poltava Region sentenced Ruslan Yemtsov, head of the social and psychological service department of the social, educational and psychological work department of Kremenchuk Correctional Colony No. 69.

According to the investigation, on March 10, 2016, a prisoner of the institution approached Yemtsov, who needed to write a characterization for parole. The accused informed the prisoner that such a characterization would cost him UAH 2,000. The prisoner was to transfer these funds to the Kyivstar mobile number used by Yemtsov.

Ruslan Yemtsov pleaded not guilty. The man said that he did not demand money and does not know why he was transferred 2,000 UAH. During that period, only 5,000 UAH came to his mobile number in various payments, but he thought that in this way he was repaid the debt. Because the day before, he had lent 5,000 UAH to a friend to repair his car. However, it later turned out that the debtor transferred 3,000 UAH to him, and gave the rest when they met.

Ruslan Yemtsov also noted that the bribery situation was provoked by a colleague who wanted to take his position. Yemtsov even referred to the victim's statement, which states that Yemtsov's colleague summoned the prisoner and informed him that he could receive early release - for this, Yemtsov must be offered money for writing a characterization.

But the Kryukiv District Court of Poltava Oblast then found Yemtsov guilty and sentenced him to 6 years in prison with confiscation of property. Yemtsov appealed this verdict and remained on bail while the appeal was considered.

Also in February 2023, Ruslan Yemtsov addressed Poltava Region and said that this case had previously been covered by journalists from Kremenchuk. Since the man believes that this case against him was fabricated by law enforcement officers, he asked Poltava journalists to cover it, because the trial was supposed to take place in Poltava.

However, the appeal case was constantly postponed. Ruslan Yemtsov told Poltavshchyna that in the court of first instance, during the consideration of the case by the third judge, Ivan Dyadechko, video recordings of witness statements with high-quality sound, which were provided in 2017, 2019, and 2020, began to disappear. According to Yemtsov, at that time these witnesses indicated that they performed all actions at the request and under the control of law enforcement officers.

Ruslan Yemtsov also said that after filing an appeal, he was offered to write an addendum and plead guilty to receiving a bribe, but he refused.

On December 5, 2024, the hearing at the Poltava Court of Appeals nevertheless took place. As Yemtsov said, during the hearing, the judges did not listen to the audio recordings of witnesses in the case, which Yemtsov had requested to be examined, as he believed they proved his innocence. The judges denied his request.

So, after 8.5 years of investigation and trials, the Poltava Court of Appeal upheld the verdict of the Kryukiv District Court. Ruslan Yemtsov was found guilty of receiving a 2,000 UAH bribe and sentenced to 6 years in prison with confiscation of property. This was reported by the press service of the Poltava Region Prosecutor's Office.

Ruslan Yemtsov was taken into custody in the courtroom of the appeals court.

Earlier, a large-scale mobilization evasion scheme was exposed in Dnipro .

We also wrote that the head of a state institution and entrepreneurs seized ₴10 million in firewood.