Position: people's deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of the 9th convocation from "Servant of the People", chairman of the subcommittee on pharmacy and pharmaceutical activities.
The sphere of corrupt activity: receiving a bribe in the amount of 558 thousand hryvnias.
Region of corruption activity: Zhytomyr region.
Qualification: the actions of the people's deputy qualify under part 2 of article 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - abuse of influence.
Status: at large, on February 2, 2022, Kuzminykh asked to be temporarily excluded from the faction for the period of the investigation, but the decision was never made.
The story of the case: January 28, 2022 The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and the Prosecutor General's Office exposed the incumbent People's Deputy for receiving illegal benefits of UAH 558,000.
According to the investigation, the official received funds for assistance in concluding contracts between private companies and a hospital in the Zhytomyr region.
It was not reported who exactly it was about, but the mass media wrote that the detained person is People's Deputy from "Servant of the People" Serhiy Kuzminykh. "This news came as a shock to the faction," the head of the faction commented on the news on the same day
"Servant of the people" David Arahamia.
On January 31, Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova signed a notice of suspicion against Serhiy Kuzminykh, who the day before was exposed for receiving an illegal benefit. Venediktova clarified that the deputy is suspected of committing a criminal offense using his official powers and influence. It is about offenses in the field of medicine.
The next day NABU reported that People's Deputy from the Servant of the People Serhii Kuzminykh ignores calls to law enforcement officers. According to the agency, he ignored three subpoenas on January 29, January 31, and February 1 and did not appear before law enforcement agencies. On January 31, a person who introduced himself as a defender of the people's deputy reported by phone that Kuzminykh is in a health care facility and will not come when called.
On February 2, 2022, Kuzminykh asked to be temporarily expelled from the faction after he was exposed for receiving a large bribe. He sent a letter about the events with his participation and a request for exclusion to the head of the party Olena Shulyak and the head of the faction Davyd Arahamia. In the letter, Kuzminykh asked to temporarily exclude him from among the members of the faction with the possibility of returning if his innocence is proven in accordance with the procedure established by law.
On the same day, NABU and SAP published recordings of the conversations of People's Deputy Serhii Kuzminykh. Law enforcement officers said that in mid-2021 they learned about a corruption scheme involving a People's Deputy who used his powers and connections to influence public health policy during the purchase of equipment for hospitals.
According to the investigation, in the fall of 2021, a representative of a private company was hinted that if it planned to supply medical equipment to hospitals in the Zhytomyr region, it would need to be "coordinated in advance" with one of the people's deputies.
The People's Deputy promised to help the company win a tender for the purchase of equipment using budget funds. The first object of "cooperation", according to NABU and SAPO, was Pavlusenko Hospital No. 2 in Zhytomyr region, which purchased medical equipment for UAH 40 million. The People's Deputy hinted that his services cost 30% of the contract amounts.
When in early January 2022 the hospital still had not paid under the contracts due to a delay in funding, the People's Deputy, in a conversation with a company representative, assured that he was taking measures to allocate funding and had discussed this issue with the Minister of Health, Viktor Lyashko. The SAPO added that the Kuzmins were detained after receiving 558 thousand hryvnias, which was 30% of the contract amount.
According to the investigation, the deputy planned to use this scheme in the future even after the hospital transferred funds in accordance with other contracts - 37.5 million hryvnias, which is 30% of the cost of MRI equipment and over 398 thousand hryvnias - of the cost of a laparoscopic set for surgical procedures.
On February 3, NABU put Kuzminykh on the wanted list. They stated that the decision was made due to "the suspect's systematic failure to appear at law enforcement agencies' summonses, his absence from his place of residence, and his hiding from NABU detectives." At the same time, Kuzminykh stated that he was "surprised" to learn about his wanted list, because "neither he nor his lawyer received a summons, as required by law."
However, on February 7, NABU and SAPO detained Serhiy Kuzminykh, a deputy from the Servant of the People party.
The court hearings lasted ten days. On February 7, the MP came to the hearing without a passport, which caused the trial to be postponed. On the day of the next hearing, he went to Zhytomyr to get his passport, and then asked for more time to familiarize himself with the case materials.
During the following sessions, the court did not have time to consider the prosecutor's motion to arrest Kuzminykh - his lawyer challenged the prosecutor and the investigating judge. On February 16, neither the people's deputy nor his lawyer came to the session, the "Graty" publication reported.
On February 17, Judge Oleh Tkachenko of the High Anti-Corruption Court issued a ruling on his own initiative to summon the Kuzmins to a court hearing to consider a motion to impose a preventive measure on them. The court ruled to summon the Kuzmins to a court hearing, which was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on February 24.
On May 19, Serhiy Kuzminykh was chosen as a preventive measure - bail in the amount of 49,600 hryvnias. The lawyer of the People's Deputy Kuzminykh, Larisa Kryvoruchko, confirmed on her Facebook page that the court refused to arrest the People's Deputy Kuzminykh and set him on bail, obliging him to appear in court when summoned, surrender his passport, refrain from communicating with certain persons, and pay a minimum bail.
In July 2022, NABU detectives completed the investigation.
The investigation established that the deputy received illegal profit for influencing the decision-making by persons authorized to perform the functions of the state and local self-government. It is about ensuring victory in a number of tenders for the purchase of equipment at the expense of the budget, held by a hospital in the Zhytomyr region.
In September 2025, it became known that the High Anti-Corruption Court would interrogate one of the witnesses in a closed session in the criminal proceedings against MP Serhiy Kuzminych for abuse of influence.
The request of the prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office to conduct the interrogation of a witness in a manner that makes it impossible to identify him/her is granted. Conduct the interrogation of a witness in a closed court session using technical means from another room, including outside the courtroom, or in another manner that makes it impossible to identify him/her and provides the parties to the criminal proceedings with the opportunity to ask questions and listen to the answers to them.
Wealth: during the first year of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, Kuzminykh declared several real estates - these are three apartments and one plot of land. However, as Kuzminykh himself notes, he is the full owner of these objects.
In the same year, Kuzminykh declared two vehicles - a Mercedes Benz (on lease from the People's Deputy) and a Toyota RAV-4 (this car is used by Kuzminyh's wife by proxy).
In addition, Kuzminykh received UAH 493,557 in salary for 2022; UAH 478,833 as compensation for expenses related to the performance of deputy powers; UAH 90,000 in compensation for travel costs and UAH 236,200 in compensation for housing rent. His wife received UAH 41,634 in income from her entrepreneurial activities this year.
Kuzminykh declared $7,200 in cash, while his wife declared $3,200.
At the same time, for 2021, Kuzminykh declared a slightly larger share of income, namely, for this year he received UAH 542,232 in salary, UAH 544,800 as reimbursement for expenses related to the performance of deputy powers, UAH 90,000 in compensation for travel costs, and UAH 157,200 in compensation housing rent.
Kuzminykh declared $3,500 in cash for 2021, his wife indicated $2,700 in cash. Also, more than UAH 18,000 was placed in the bank accounts of the Kuzmins.
Persons who should have responded to the Kuzminys' corruption schemes during his tenure: In the case of the Kuzminys, law enforcement agencies responded in time. In particular, NABU, SAP and the Prosecutor General's Office dealt with the People's Deputy's case.
Scandals: Kuzminykh, who was brought to court for bribery, nevertheless continued his work in the parliament. So, in the summer of last year, a draft law became scandalous, by which Kuzminykh proposed to deprive Ukraine of citizenship for high treason. It is currently submitted to the leadership of the parliament for consideration.
Sources:
Telegram channel - Yulia Paliychuk - spokeswoman of "SERVANTS OF THE PEOPLE"
Telegram channel - Yulia Paliychuk - spokeswoman of "SERVANTS OF THE PEOPLE"
NABU detained a deputy from "Servant of the People" Kuzminy. Case details
The declaration for 2022 was submitted voluntarily by only one People's Deputy from Zhytomyr Oblast
Unified state register of declarations