Position: judge of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City District Court.
Sphere of corruption: judicial.
Region of corruption activity: Odessa region.
Qualification: the actions are qualified under the following articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Art. 368 (obtaining unlawful benefit); Art. 369 (providing unlawful benefit); Art. 332 (organizing illegal border crossing); Art. 114-1 (obstructing the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine); Art. 376-1 (illegal interference in the work of automated justice systems).
Status: at large.
The plot of the case: in the first years of the full-scale war, the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City District Court made over 850 decisions on determining the place of residence of children with their parents, which allowed men of draft age to avoid mobilization and travel abroad. According to media reports, almost all of these decisions were made by just four judges of this court – the chairman, Oleksandr Boyarskyi (364), Serhiy Savytskyi (312), Valentyn Zaveryukha (124), and Yulia Shevchuk (30).
In January 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme in the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi court related to mobilization evasion. Judge Boyarsky was detained while accepting a bribe of $1,500 for making a decision on establishing the child's place of residence with his father.
NGL.media has established that Boyarsky was the organizer of a scheme to avoid mobilization of men, when servicemen submitted reports for discharge from the army on the grounds that after the divorce they remained the sole guardians of their minor children. Fictitious divorces with the subsequent deprivation of the mother of the right to raise the child in favor of the father were massively formalized through the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City District Court.
Subsequently, the High Anti-Corruption Court chose a preventive measure for Judge Boyarsky in the form of detention with the possibility of posting bail in the amount of 1,059,800 hryvnias. The bail was posted on the same day, and the judge was released.
On January 23, 2024, the High Council of Justice adopted a decision to temporarily suspend Judge Boyarsky from administering justice until March 9, 2024, in connection with his criminal prosecution.
On March 5, 2024, the High Council of Justice extended the temporary suspension of Judge Boyarsky from administering justice until April 9, 2024.
On February 3, 2025, the First Disciplinary Chamber of the High Council of Justice adopted a decision to bring Judge Boyarsky to disciplinary responsibility and apply a penalty to him in the form of a motion for dismissal from office. Pending the adoption of a final decision, the judge was temporarily suspended from the administration of justice.
At the end of February 2025, it became known that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office had exposed an organized group that was helping conscripted men illegally travel abroad and receive deferments from mobilization.
According to media reports, the suspect was handed over to lawyer Stanislav Klymenko, the head of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi court, Valentyn Zaveryus (according to the investigation, the organizer), the former head and judge of the same court, Oleksandr Boyarskyi and Serhiy Savytskyi, respectively.
In the Odessa region, an organized group was exposed that worked within the judicial system and helped men subject to military service to illegally travel abroad and receive a deferment from mobilization. The SAPO prosecutor, on the instructions of the Deputy Prosecutor General - Head of the SAPO, reported suspicion to 4 persons who are members of the organized group, namely: the organizer of the crime - the head of the court; the current judge - the former head of the court; the judge; the lawyer
According to the investigation, the scheme consisted of 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 the 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.
For the conspiracy, the perpetrators created a "back office" of the court in a law firm and even advertised their "services" on social networks. Through joint efforts of NABU, SAPO and SBU, 8 members of an organized criminal group were reported on suspicion. In addition, 3 individuals were reported on suspicion of committing crimes related to the activities of an organized criminal group. Three judges received disciplinary action in the form of a motion to dismiss them
Their actions are qualified under the following articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
● Article 368 – obtaining unlawful benefit;
● Article 369 – providing unlawful benefit;
● Article 332 – organization of illegal border crossing;
● Article 114-1 – obstruction of the lawful activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
● Article 376-1 – unlawful interference with the operation of automated justice systems.
Three judges received disciplinary action in the form of a motion to dismiss them.
The operation of NABU and SAPO lasted for more than a year. In January 2024, the transfer of an illegal benefit to one of the judges was documented for the promise to make the "necessary" decision. After that, the participants of the organized group continued their criminal activity. Later, in the summer and autumn of 2024, new crimes of the participants of the scheme were documented, as a result of which 9 more persons were reported on suspicion. In February 2025, NABU and SAPO collected enough evidence to qualify the actions of the participants of the scheme as part of an organized criminal group, as a result of which new suspicions were reported.
In January 2025, Valentyn Zaveryukha, a judge of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City District Court of the Odessa region, was temporarily suspended from administering justice based on the decision of the First Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council. Interestingly, Zaveryukha requested that the disciplinary case against him be closed at the High Council of Justice due to the fact that he had been mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Supreme Judicial Council denied his request, since judges are not subject to compulsory conscription, and Zaveryukha went to serve just when a criminal case for bribery was opened against him.
Oleksandr Boyarsky was suspended in February. On November 25, 2024, the First Disciplinary Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council imposed disciplinary sanctions on Judge Savytsky in the form of a motion for dismissal based on a complaint from the NABU.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: in general, several persons are involved in the scheme. However, only a few names are publicly known today, in particular: lawyer Stanislav Klymenko, head of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi court Valentyn Zaveryukha, judge Serhiy Savytskyi, deputy head of the court's staff Inna Taruta.
Assets: In his 2024 declaration, Boyarsky indicated that he uses two apartments in the city of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, which belong to his relatives, free of charge. Thus, the judge does not have his own housing.
At the same time, Alexander Boyarsky declared two men's gold rings with diamonds, as well as gold watches from brands such as Omega, Breguet, and Zenit.
At the same time, based on the declaration, Boyarsky also does not have his own car. He only uses a Toyota Rav4 free of charge.
Boyarsky's income for the third year of the full-scale war amounted to 1,587,340 UAH.
The official's bank accounts contain UAH 2,358,368, USD 64,718, and EUR 46,607.
Persons who should have reacted: law enforcement agencies responded in a timely manner to the criminal activities of Boyarsky and his accomplices, handing over suspicions to all participants in the corruption scheme.
Scandals: The former head of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi City District Court, Oleksandr Boyarskyi, is, oddly enough, still under investigation in another case. Two years ago, SBI detectives exposed him in an attempted fraud, but the case is not yet closed - the latest ruling is dated May 2023. At the end of 2021, the High Council of Justice even suspended Boyarskyi from the judiciary, but two months later he returned to his post. In October 2023, he was replaced as head of the court by Valentyn Zaveryukha, and Boyarskyi became a judge.
Boyarsky is well known to local journalists. Back in 2017, Odessa media reported on the discrepancy between his standard of living and his official salary. In response, the judge publicly stated that journalists were simply jealous of him.
Sources:
https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2024/01/9/7436479/
https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2024/01/24/7438655/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2024/01/16/7437522/
https://nabu.gov.ua/news/tato-na-chas-viyiny-vykryto-suddivs-ko-advokats-ku-mafiiu/
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/5ea9c644-2173-4fd3-89bb-78cad50c3cc1