During the voting on the controversial draft law No. 12414, which undermines the independence of SAPO and NABU, 24 members of parliament, suspected of criminal offenses, expressed their support. Most of them are suspected of corruption offenses, such as bribery, false declaration, illegal enrichment, or abuse of influence.
Three more deputies with suspicions abstained or did not vote, while two (Sofiya Fedyna and Heo Leros) voted against. 11 were absent during the voting: most of them due to being in detention centers or hiding abroad.
CHESNO lists the names of the deputies suspected by law enforcement who simultaneously supported dismantling the independence of anti-corruption bodies.
Among the suspected MPs who supported the draft law, 11 belong to the "Servant of the People" faction, four from the "Dovira" group, three from "Batkivshchyna," and the former OPFL, as well as two members of the "For the Future" group and one deputy from "European Solidarity."
It should be noted that the cases of at least 10 of these deputies were closed at the time of the controversial voting. Most managed to avoid punishment due to repentance or the expiry of the statute of limitations.
Thus, the court closed cases of false declaration of "Servants" Volodymyr Hevko, Olha Saladukha, Serhiy Nahornyak, Marharyta Shol, as well as Yuriy Kamelchuk and Maksym Pashkovskyi. The latter two were found not guilty by the court. "Dovira" representatives Iryna Konstankevych and Mykola Babenko, and the "Batkivshchyna" deputy Mykhailo Volynets, also avoided punishment for false declaration.
Recently, the court also closed the case against Pavlo Khalimon, who was suspected of illegal enrichment through the purchase of real estate in Pechersk at a reduced price.
At the same time, cases of the other MPs who supported the controversial voting are at the stage of investigation or judicial consideration.
Among them, the court has been examining possible bribery by "Servant of the People" MPs Oleksandr Yurchenko and Serhiy Kuzminykh for several years. After the invasion, new bribery cases regarding Mykola Zadorozhnyi (SN), Serhiy Labazyuk ("For the Future"), and Liudmyla Marchenko (SN), as well as the illegal enrichment case of MP Andrii Klochko, were added. All of them received notices of suspicion from NABU.
The list also includes MP from Chernihiv Anatoliy Hunko, whom the High Anti-Corruption Court in March sentenced to seven years with confiscation of all property for bribery. The deputy continues to work in the Rada and intended to appeal the verdict.
Borys Prykhodko, another Chernihiv MP whose case regarding the embezzlement of Agrarian Fund’s funds has been heard in court for over 10 years, also voted for restricting NABU’s powers. Additionally, the majoritarian from Zakarpattia, Vladyslav Polyak ("Dovira"), became the first MP in history to be suspected of button pushing. This July, after five years, the court finally resumed the consideration of his case.
Among other MPs who gave the green light for the rollback of the anti-corruption system, there is Serhiy Aleksyeyev from "ES," whom the SSU exposed in fraud, the participant of a deadly road accident Andriy Nikolenko from "Batkivshchyna," and his fellow party member Kostyantyn Bondarev, suspected of illegally transporting people across the border, as well as Robert Horvat ("Dovira") and Dmytro Isayenko ("Restoration of Ukraine"), who received notices of suspicion for attempts to seize land.
At the same time, during the voting, the leader of "European Solidarity" Petro Poroshenko, who has at least two suspicions from law enforcement, abstained, as did his colleague Artur Herasymov, who was accused of concealing a villa in Spain but was released from punishment due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
During the voting, "Servant" Oleksandr Marikovskyi, who has a suspicion of false declaration due to cryptocurrency worth 24 million hryvnias in his declaration, did not press any button, though he was present in the hall.
Moreover, 11 deputies with suspicions were absent during the controversial voting. Among them is Anna Kolisnyk (her case for false declaration was closed). Kolisnyk does not appear in the Rada since she submitted a statement to resign her mandate, though formally, she has not yet been deprived of powers.
Mykola Tyshchenko, suspected of illegal detention of a person, was also not present during the voting for draft law No. 12414. However, on the same day, Tyshchenko participated in other votes, so the MP might have simulated his absence during the controversial NABU vote.
Among the absent deputies with suspicions, five are those who are in detention centers (Oleksandr Dubinskyi, Oleksandr Ponomaryov, Yevhen Shvchenko, Nestor Shufrych, and Viktor Bondar), and four more who are hiding abroad (Artem Dmytruk, Yaroslav Dubnevych, Fedir Khrystenko, Serhiy Shakhov).
Overall, according to estimates, at least 40 current and another 17 former deputies of the IX convocation have received suspicions of various criminal offenses. Most are suspected of corruption offenses, and 15 MPs have suspicions of treason. Recall, according to the Criminal Code, a person is considered innocent of committing a crime until proven guilty in court.
On July 22, the Verkhovna Rada voted for draft law No. 12414, which effectively dismantled the independence of the SAP and NABU. The changes were supported by 263 deputies. At the same time, 13 elected representatives voted against, 13 abstained, and another 35 deputies did not vote, with some of them blocking the Rada rostrum. On the same day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the law, and it came into force.