HACC Approves Plea Deal in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Court Case

The High Anti-Corruption Court upheld the plea agreement entered into by five defendants in the case of receiving undue benefit by judges of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City District Court of Odessa Oblast for a decision to postpone and grant permission to travel abroad to men subject to military service.

According to media reports, the agreement was signed by Inna Taruta, deputy chief of staff of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City District Court of the Odessa region, court consultant Natalia Kudakova, assistant judge Olga Kiyashko, entrepreneur Oleg Monari, and assistant attorney Pavlo Petukhov.

To approve the plea agreement concluded on 05/29/2025 between the prosecutor of the first Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the defendants in the criminal proceedings

The court sentenced Kiyashko to 5 years in prison, with a ban on holding positions in state and local government bodies for 3 years, and confiscation of 40,000 hryvnias. She was released from prison on probation for 3 years. The accused was obliged to transfer 10,000 hryvnias to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Entrepreneur Monari was sentenced to 5 years in prison with a 3-year disqualification from holding positions in state and local government bodies. He was released from prison on probation for 3 years. He will also pay UAH 60,000 to the army.

The same punishment was imposed on the lawyer's assistant Petukhov. He was also released from it for a probationary period of 3 years. The accused must transfer 240 thousand UAH to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

A similar punishment was given to the deputy chief of staff of the Taruta court. In turn, she pledged to transfer 60 thousand UAH to support the army.

Kudakov was also sentenced to 5 years in prison with a ban on holding positions in state and local government bodies for 3 years. She was also released from prison.

Recall, according to the investigation, the scheme consisted in making decisions about the alleged independent upbringing of a child by a father under fabricated circumstances. These decisions allowed men to avoid mobilization and leave the country under the pretext of caring for a child. For $3,500, a decision was made in one court session without the participation of the parties, which gave the right to travel abroad. In total, the investigation identified 1,040 such decisions.

We previously reported that the HACC had scheduled a hearing on Potalapa's case.

Also, the HACC previously scheduled a hearing in the case of Shchyhol and Zhora.