The High Council of Justice has dismissed judge Ivchenko, who was throwing money out of the window

The High Council of Justice has dismissed judge Ivchenko, who was throwing money out of the window

Pavlo Ivchenko, a judge of the Oleksandrivskyi District Court of the Kirovohrad Region, was definitively dismissed from his position for a disciplinary violation.

This is stated in the decision of the High Council of Justice dated March 27.

Ivchenko is accused of offering his acquaintance in 2022 to help avoid bringing a driver to administrative responsibility (Article 130 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses) in another court for an unlawful reward of 60,000 hryvnias. To do this, he enlisted the help of assistants of judges of the Kirov District Court of Kirovohrad, where the case was being considered.

According to the materials of the criminal case, in phone conversations on WhatsApp and Viber, the judge repeatedly emphasized the necessity of transferring money to him; otherwise, the man faced being brought to administrative responsibility.

On August 26, 2022, the judge, according to the prosecution, received one thousand dollars. From this amount, 600 dollars were allegedly given to the judge’s assistant, who was supposed to transfer 500 dollars to her colleague, an assistant to Judge Natalia Ivanova, who was to make the court decision.

The judge’s assistant discovered that police officers committed several violations during the inspection of a person for alcohol intoxication and reported that Judge Ivanova had previously considered similar cases, which she closed. Allegedly, she was even ready to compose an explanation on behalf of the driver for submission to the court for a certain monetary reward.

The money was essentially transferred in advance, and when the judge found out about the detention of her assistant, she recused herself. Another judge fined the driver 17,000 hryvnias and deprived him of the right to drive a car for one year. However, the appellate court overturned this decision and closed the case due to the absence of an administrative offense in the driver’s actions.

When the search took place at Judge Ivchenko’s apartment, he threw part of the received money, namely four 100-dollar bills, out the window of the fifth floor.

Currently, the case against Ivchenko, as well as two assistants of the Kirovohrad District Court judges, is under consideration in the High Anti-Corruption Court.

The High Council of Justice considered a disciplinary complaint regarding Ivchenko’s behavior, which undermines the authority of justice. Ivchenko did not appear at the HCJ hearing and in written explanations referred to the presumption of innocence and the fact that the court has not yet ruled against him. In his opinion, until a verdict is issued, the HCJ has no right to assess these circumstances.

Judge Ivchenko claimed that his acquaintance actively asked him to help illegally her friend, noting that she had financial difficulties due to the inability to repay a 40,000 hryvnia loan. Allegedly, as a result of the scheme, the woman hoped to earn 500 dollars from the driver. Under such circumstances, he promised her help, trying to find out through a judicial assistant whether there were grounds for closing the case. He never asked to influence Judge Ivanova, but rather requested that the judge not be informed of this.

Judge Ivanova stated that she learned about the administrative offense case only during the search in the court by NABU employees. According to her, no one previously approached her to discuss this case. She allegedly does not know Judge Ivchenko at all, and there was no connection between them.

Pavlo Ivchenko was appointed to the position of judge of the Oleksandrivskyi District Court of the Kirovohrad Region by decree of the President of Ukraine in 2020. At the time of the suspicion being presented to him, he was the head of the court.