Position: member of the High Qualification Commission of Judges, former judge.
Sphere of corruption: judicial.
Region of corruption activity: all of Ukraine.
Qualification: the actions are qualified under Part 4 of Article 191 (embezzlement, embezzlement of property or taking possession of it through abuse of official position, committed on a large scale or under martial law) of the Criminal Code.
Status: at large.
Case story: On April 17, 2025, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office reported suspicions against a retired former judge of the Severodonetsk City Court of Luhansk Oblast, a member of the High Qualification Commission of Judges, of embezzling over 576 thousand hryvnias of state funds. According to media reports, this was Volodymyr Luhansky.
On April 17, 2025, on the instructions of the Deputy Prosecutor General - Head of the SAPO, the SAPO prosecutor reported suspicion to a member of the High Qualification Commission for Judges, whose abuse caused more than half a million UAH in losses to the state budget. Today, the actions of the member of the HQCJ are qualified under Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The investigation is ongoing
According to the investigation, the suspect, while serving as a judge, used the "scientific degree of Doctor of Philosophy" as a pretext for accruing a 15% increase to his salary and pension. He received it back in 2011 in violation of the procedure, since no higher education institution had the right to award such a degree at that time, and a corresponding non-state diploma could not serve as a basis for any additional payments.
As a result, from April 21, 2015 to April 1, 2025, Luhansky took possession of budget funds intended for the payment of judicial remuneration and lifelong financial support to a retired judge, for a total amount of UAH 576 thousand.
On April 30, 2025, the HIgh Anti-Corruption Court chose a preventive measure for Volodymyr Luhansky, a member of the Supreme Qualification Commission of Judges.
A preventive measure for the member of the HQCJ was chosen in the form of a bail of 242,240 hryvnias.
According to the court's decision, Volodymyr Luhanskyi will also not be able to leave Kyiv and Ivano-Frankivsk, where the wife of a member of the HQCJ, who administers justice in the local appeals court, lives, without the permission of the detective and the court.
Volodymyr Luhansky must also hand over his international passport.
The term of the preventive measure is until June 30, 2025.
In May 2025, the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court assigned additional responsibilities to Volodymyr Luhansky, a member of the High Qualification Commission of Judges.
This was reported by the press service of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, but it did not mention the name of the suspect. According to media reports, it is Luhansky.
As is known, the anti-corruption court applied a preventive measure in the form of bail to Luhansky. He was also given the following obligations: to appear upon first demand; to report any change of residence and/or work; not to leave Kyiv and Ivano-Frankivsk with the possibility of traveling between them without permission; not to communicate with witnesses; to hand over his foreign passports for safekeeping.
The prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office and Luhansky's lawyer filed appeals against this decision.
The court partially agreed with the arguments of the SAPO prosecutor and changed the assigned duties, obliging the suspect not to leave the city of Kyiv without the permission of the detective, prosecutor, and court.
In June, it became known that the High Anti-Corruption Court extended until October 17 the investigation into the case of suspicion of Volodymyr Luhansky, a member of the High Qualification Commission of Judges, in illegally receiving UAH 576,000.
The detective's motion is granted. The term of the pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings on suspicion (of Luhansky - ed.) of committing a criminal offense provided for in Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is extended by six months, i.e. until October 17, 2025.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: no information is available from open sources about potential accomplices.
Assets: in the declaration for 2024, Volodymyr Luhanskyi reported that he owns a residential building, two land plots in Luhansk, and also has the right to use an apartment in Ivano-Frankivsk and uses an apartment in Kyiv. At the same time, his wife Valentyna owns an apartment in the city of Severodonetsk, two land plots in the Kyiv region, and together with her husband has the right to use an apartment in Ivano-Frankivsk and uses an apartment in Kyiv, additionally renting a garage.
In addition, Valentyna Luhanska has three unfinished construction projects: an apartment, a parking space, and a storage room in the city of Ivano-Frankivsk.
Volodymyr Luhanskyi owns a Mitsubishi Outlander, and his wife owns a Toyota Rav-4 Hibrid. The total cost of both cars is UAH 1,112,664.
Luhansky's income for 2024 was UAH 3,869,360 , and his wife's was UAH 2,770,169.
Luhanskyi declared 200,000 UAH and 27,000 USD in cash, and 2,003,062 UAH in his bank accounts. In turn, Valentyna Luhanska declared 40,000 UAH and 42,900 USD in cash.
Persons who should have reacted: law enforcement agencies responded in a timely manner to the criminal scheme involving Luhansky.
Scandals: although it became known in the fall of 2024 that Volodymyr Luhanskyi was receiving additional payment for his "Doctor of Philosophy" degree, the official had not been identified as a figure in other scandals before that.
Sources:
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/735b761c-942a-4e72-8e7c-4bac7cb40f6b