People’s Deputy Hunko sentenced to 7 years in prison for taking $85,000 bribe
People`s Deputy Anatolii Hunko was sentenced to 7 years in prison for receiving $85,000 in bribes to ensure that a private enterprise was granted a lease of state land from the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to the press service of the SAPO.
As part of the pre-trial investigation, it was established that the People`s Deputy, who was also the Chairman of the Temporary Investigation Commission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the investigation of corruption in state-owned enterprises, institutions and organizations of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, incited a representative of a private enterprise to bribe officials of the Academy and the head of a local government body to ensure the provision of land plots with a total area of 1700 hectares to a private enterprise.
The People`s Deputy asked the entrepreneur to transfer the "reward", which amounted to USD 221 thousand - at the rate of USD 130 per 1 hectare of state land. The People`s Deputy and two of his accomplices were caught red-handed immediately after receiving a part of the agreed funds, namely $85 thousand.
The court found the People`s Deputy guilty of committing the crimes stipulated by Part 2 of Article 15, Part 2 of Article 28, Part 4 of Article 190 and Part 4 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 15, Part 4 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and sentenced him to 7 years in prison with disqualification to be elected to state and local government bodies and appointed to civil service positions for a period of 3 years, with confiscation of all property owned by him.
The verdict of the High Anti-Corruption Court comes into force 30 days after its announcement, unless it is appealed to the HACC Appeals Chamber.
Case of People`s Deputy Hunko
As a reminder, on August 8, 2023, Hunko was caught taking an $85,000 bribe. Subsequently, an audio was published in which he announced the amount of the bribe. Hunko was expelled from the Servant of the People faction. The Rada dissolved the investigative commission under his leadership.
