HACC appeal reduces ex-judge Chaus' sentence to 8.5 years

The Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court reduced the prison term of former judge of the Dniprovsky District Court of Kyiv, Mykola Chaus, to 8 years and 6 months.

This was reported by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

The appellate court partially supported the position of the defense and prosecution, in particular the prosecutor's arguments regarding the absence of provocation by law enforcement agencies.

The Supreme Judicial Council of Ukraine overturned the previous verdict and adopted a new one, according to which the former judge was found guilty of accepting a bribe and sentenced to 8 years and 6 months in prison with confiscation of property, and was also deprived of the right to hold positions in the judicial branch for three years.

As a reminder, in 2016, Judge Chaus was detained while accepting a bribe of $150,000 in a drug trafficking case. According to NABU, he kept the money in liter jars buried in the garden. Due to the lack of parliamentary permission, he was not arrested at the time, and Chaus fled to Moldova.

In November 2016, he was placed on the international wanted list by Interpol. In March 2021, Ukraine filed a request for his extradition. At the same time, in April 2021, it became known that Chaus had been kidnapped in Chisinau. Later, the Moldovan Foreign Ministry confirmed that he was in Ukraine with his kidnappers.

On July 30, 2021, the SBU and NABU reported that Chaus was in Ukraine. At the same time, a dispute arose between the agencies over jurisdiction over the case. NABU was investigating the alleged bribery, and the SBU was investigating the circumstances of his abduction and torture.

In June 2023, the High Anti-Corruption Court found Mykola Chaus guilty and sentenced him to 10 years in prison with additional sanctions. This decision was later appealed.

As a reminder, the court arrested Judge Savitsky for failure to pay bail.

We also wrote that the SAPO wants to confiscate UAH 1.64 million from Prosecutor Yanishevska.