Five Servant of People MPs served suspicion notices over bribes for "needed" votes in Verkhovna Rada – NABU (updated)
NABU and SAPO have served suspicion notices on members of an organised criminal group that operated in Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada and ensured that MPs systematically received bribes for "needed" votes on draft laws.
Censor.NET reported this, citing the press services of NABU and SAPO.
Updated 9:45 p.m. According to the Anti-Corruption Action Centre, the suspects are Yurii Kisiel, Yevhen Pyvovarov, Ihor Nehulevskyi, Olha Savchenko and Mykhailo Laba. All of them are serving MPs from Servant of the People and voted for dismantling NABU and SAPO in July 2025.
Bribery scheme
According to the investigation, the group had a hierarchical structure and a clear division of roles. It included serving Ukrainian MPs and officials of the Verkhovna Rada’s staff. The group’s activities were coordinated by one of the MPs.
- To organise voting, the group’s members sent instructions with bill numbers in a specially created WhatsApp messenger group.
- After the votes, cash was systematically handed over to certain MPs.
Under the assigned roles, some members of the organised group were responsible for controlling and coordinating other members, informing them about draft laws and resolutions, and about amendments that needed to be supported by voting "for" or, conversely, rejected by voting "against".
In addition, the issues delegated by the group’s organiser included receiving, distributing, and handing over illicit benefits to Ukrainian MPs.
Other members of the group were required to maintain strict discipline, unfailingly follow the agreed position on voting "for" or "against", and be present in the session hall on the day of the vote.
Bribe amounts
It is noted that the bribe amount was determined by a "voting effectiveness indicator", which depended on the number of draft resolutions and laws supported by each individual Ukrainian MP, as well as their attendance at plenary sittings.
The amount of the illicit benefit ranged from $2,000 to $20,000. At the same time, at least from September 2022 to November 2022, the illicit benefit was $2,000, while since at least August 2025, it has been $5,000.
As a rule, the illicit benefit was distributed every Thursday at the beginning of the following month, based on how the members of the organised group had carried out the organiser’s instructions given either in person or through other members of the organised group during the previous month.
All suspects have been served motions seeking pre-trial restraints. Legal classification: Part 3 of Article 28 and Part 4 of Article 368 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code.
