Ukrainian MP sentenced to eight years in absentia for trying to bribe former Restoration Agency head

Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court has sentenced Servant of the People MP Andriy Odarchenko to 8 years in prison for attempting to bribe Mustafa Nayyem, according to the press service of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

Odarchenko was found guilty of attempting to bribe Nayyem, the former head of the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development, with bitcoins in exchange for assistance in obtaining funds from the Liquidation Fund for the repair of buildings at the State Biotechnological University, where the lawmaker continues to hold the position of rector (the contract has been suspended).

The actions of the MP were qualified as an attempt to give a bribe, under Article 369, Part 4 of the Criminal Code. The penalty for this article is imprisonment for a term of 5 to 10 years.

This is the first case in the history of anti-corruption agencies where an illegal benefit was documented in cryptocurrency.

The parliamentarian initially denied transferring the money, stating that he was only helping Nayyem with cryptocurrencies.

In September 2024, he stopped appearing in court. According to the NABU, the lawmaker illegally crossed the border and fled to Romania.

In October, while abroad, the MP admitted to offering a bribe to Nayyem. He claimed that Nayyem, who cooperated with anti-graft agencies, had provoked him.

The court considered the evidence collected during the pre-trial investigation by NABU detectives and SAPO prosecutors and found the legislator guilty. The verdict of the High Anti-Corruption Court can be appealed within 30 days in the appellate court.

Along with Odarchenko, another MP Serhiy Labazuk from the For Future group, was also charged (in a different case) on the same day. His verdict has not yet been announced.