People’s Servant MP Yurchenko arrested for taking alleged bribe

MP Oleksandr Yurchenko, who was exposed for alleged bribery
by an anti-corruption investigation, was placed under arrest on Sept. 21 by the
High Anti-Corruption Court, which set bail at UAH 3.2 mln. Yurchenko, who did
not attend the Sept. 18 hearing, denies the bribery charges against him, his
lawyers said, as reported by the pravda.com.ua news site. “There is all the
basis to believe and assert that the criminal violations – for which cases have
been opened – would not have occurred without the interference of law
enforcement bodies, directly a National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU)
detective,” a lawyer said reportedly.

The investigation of The People’s Servant MP – who was
appointed to head the waste subcommittee of the parliamentary energy, housing
and maintenance committee – was conducted by NABU, which published on Sept. 15
its evidence that consisted of text messages and video recordings. The
investigator paid a bribe to Ivan Fishchenko, a close associate to Yurchenko
from their previous involvement in the Ukrop party, in exchange for amending
legislation on waste recycling, NABU said. Yurchenko allegedly demanded USD
13,000 for the favor, received a second tranche of USD 50,000 in late August,
and requested an additional USD 200,000 to bribe other members of the
committee.

The same day NABU published its evidence, Prosecutor
General Iryna Venediktova told parliament sufficient evidence was lacking in
order for her office to issue him a notice of suspicion for bribery. NABU had
the authority to issue Fishchenko a notice of suspicion on Sept. 10, which was
followed by his arrest on Sept. 15. Yet the tide quickly turned against
Yurchenko when The People’s Servant parliamentary faction voted on Sept. 17 to
exclude him from its ranks. By then, NABU had gained its notice of suspicion
from Venediktova to issue to Yurchenko. President Zelensky made the bold
statement that day, exceeding his authority, that Yurchenko would sit in
prison.

Zenon Zawada: The
knee-jerk reaction of the Zelensky administration last week was typical in
Ukrainian politics, which was to “circle the wagons” and defend one of their
own against political attack. Yet we are confident that after some
contemplation, presidential officials decided that the 32-year-old Yurchenko
was expendable and not worth the political liability he presents. That’s
especially the case when the administration is drawing warnings from the West
for its plans to take control of the IMF-sponsored anti-corruption institutions
(NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.)

In this sense, it’s positive to see the Zelensky
administration being sensitive to public opinion, both from the Ukrainian
electorate and the country’s Western partners. But it’s negative to see that
Yurchenko would be enjoying the defense of the President’s Office if it determined
that he wielded enough political weight and capital. Evidence of that is the
lack of criminal charges against Putin-aligned MP Andriy Derkach (who was recently placed under U.S. sanctions), and the lack of any criminal case against Denys
Yermak, who was allegedly video-recorded offering key government posts in
exchange for bribes.
(Denys Yermak is the brother of Andriy Yermak, the President’s Office head.)
The Yurchenko episode is evidence that Zelensky is building a “rule of
influence” state, rather than pursuing a “rule of law” state.