Tymoshenko’s preventive measure chosen by HACC. Live updates
The High Anti-Corruption Court has begun a hearing to determine the preventive measure for "Batkivshchyna" leader Yulia Tymoshenko, who is suspected of bribing MPs from other factions.
This was reported by Censor.NET.
What is known?
SAPO prosecutor Vitalii Hrechyshkin did not request a closed trial.
Defence lawyer Oleksandr Hotin also supported holding the trial in open court.
Tymoshenko also insisted on the publicity of the trial, as NABU "staged an information witch hunt".
The investigating judge allowed an open trial.
Investigating judge Vitalii Dubas allowed an open hearing.
Members of parliament from the "Batkivshchyna" party were also present at the hearing, in particular
Members of the Batkivshchyna faction and her husband, Oleksandr Tymoshenko, came to support the parliamentarian.
What does the prosecutor say?
According to the prosecution, one of the MPs was invited to a meeting with Tymoshenko, where she told him about the existence of a scheme of "systematic provision of unlawful benefits" for voting in the Rada and offered him to "join the said criminal activity".
The witness also said, according to the prosecutor, that Tymoshenko offered him $10,000 for voting in parliament.
"A total of $30,000 was offered. The interrogation revealed that the communication was to take place via messengers in order to conceal and disguise it... The issue of involving intermediaries to transfer the illegal benefit was discussed. It was decided that the transfer would take place the next day, 13 January, when the search was conducted," said the SAPO prosecutor Hrechyshkin.
He also noted that the proceedings against Tymoshenko were registered by Prosecutor General Kravchenko.
According to Hrechyshkin, Tymoshenko is taking certain measures of conspiracy and using technology to detect "wiretapping" in her office, which indicates that the MP "is aware of the criminal nature of her actions and proposals."
The prosecutor said that Tymoshenko asked to meet not in public places, but somewhere at home, so that "no one could get there."
In addition to the three MPs, Tymoshenko was considering involving other parliamentarians in criminal activities, Hrechyshkin said.
The prosecutor says that correspondence regarding voting on personnel appointments was found with one of the subscribers in the phone that was seized during the search.
Also, the prosecution notes that a "cash book" was found on a computer in Tymoshenko's office - an Excel spreadsheet with payments for 2022-2026.
Tymoshenko responded that these were expenses for coffee, tea, sweets and biscuits, so it was a "farce" to link expenses for coffee and sweets with the analysis of voting by MPs in the Rada.
Who was Tymoshenko talking to?
Tymoshenko says that the meeting caught on tape was with Kopytin, a member of parliament from the "Servant of the People" party.
She says that the NABU has a case against him and is putting pressure on him.
"Mr Kopytin asked to meet with me several times and said that he did not want to be in the 'Servant of the People' faction and did not want to work with the majority and the president. He offered to cooperate many times. ...
Kopytin was definitely interested in closing his case. ... I categorically state that Kopytin, in order to free himself from responsibility, handed it over to NABU so that it would be compiled and not correspond to reality and to show his merit to the NABU," she said.
Tymoshenko insists on conducting an examination to prove that the recording of the conversation was "compiled" by the NABU and Kopytin.
Risks
The prosecutor claims that there is a risk that Tymoshenko will hide from the court and pre-trial investigation authorities, as she has the opportunity to travel abroad and has considerable financial resources.
He also mentioned methods of conspiracy and believes that the suspect may also destroy, distort and hide any items and documents.
"After the search began, messages were deleted from one of the phones after the search had already started," the prosecutor said.
Tymoshenko replied that it was the phone of a person who "takes care of the office."
Hrechyshkin believes that Tymoshenko could use her connections to influence the experts in the case.
The prosecution is ready to order an examination of the recordings of conversations, but there is a risk that the examination could be influenced by factors outside the proceedings.
Defence position
Lawyer Mykola Tytarenko claims that the transcript of the fragment of Tymoshenko's conversation was not transcribed for an hour.
The defence requests that the full transcript of the conversation be obtained.
Lawyer Hotin requests that the motion for a preventive measure be denied in its entirety.
The defence lawyer also opposed the requirement to wear an electronic bracelet, arguing that it would be difficult to wear appropriate footwear in the cold winter weather.
The lawyer requested that MP Ihor Kopytin be summoned and questioned so that he could testify about his exposure of a possible crime. The court denied the motion.
The defence considers the risks cited by the prosecution to be unfounded.
Preventive measure
The prosecutor requests a preventive measure in the form of bail, which "is not excessive for Ms. Tymoshenko":
"Her personal savings amount to 15 million. Her husband's savings as of 2024 amount to 28 million. There is information about a loan of 4 million US dollars to her daughter."
Therefore, the prosecution is requesting bail of 50 million hryvnia for Tymoshenko.
The prosecution is also requesting that she be subject to a number of other procedural obligations, in particular not to leave Kyiv and the Kyiv region, to report any change of residence or work, and to refrain from communicating with a number of individuals.
"The application of less severe measures - personal commitment and surety - is inappropriate and will not guarantee proper procedural behaviour," the prosecutor said.
Tymoshenko's statement
Tymoshenko asks the court not to restrict her ability to communicate with members of parliament, as this would "make her work impossible".
She also asks that no preventive measures be applied and promises to attend all court hearings. The parliamentarian asks that her movement not be restricted.
Some of the NABU recordings, says Tymoshenko, have been compiled and partially falsified.
"I ask you to understand that no crime has been committed here. Do not impose a preventive measure, or give me the opportunity to make personal commitments, which I will never violate. I also undertake that I will not communicate with any MPs except on parliamentary matters," said the leader of "Batkivshchyna".
What did the court decide?
The investigating judge imposed a preventive measure in the form of bail in the amount of 33.3 million hryvnias.
Tymoshenko was also assigned a number of procedural obligations.
Yulia Tymoshenko's suspicion
- Late in the evening on 14 January, the NABU announced that it had exposed the leader of one of the factions of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for offering bribes to a number of MPs who do not belong to his faction in exchange for voting for specific bills.
- According to sources at Censor.NET, NABU and SAPO are conducting searches at the office of the "Batkivshchyna" party. The searches are taking place at the "Batkivshchyna" party office on Turivska Street in Kyiv.
- Later, the media reported that NABU and SAPO had exposed Yulia Tymoshenko for bribing MPs in the Rada.
- NABU confirmed that it had notified the MP of the suspicion.
- The Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office will request a preventive measure for Tymoshenko in the form of a bail of 50 million hryvnias and certain obligations.
