The High Council of Justice refused to arrest judge Vitaliy Dudchenko, suspected of a $2000 bribe for the 'correct' case distribution
The High Council of Justice considered the submission of the First Deputy Prosecutor General Mariya Vdovychenko regarding consent to detain judge of the Berestynskyi District Court of Kharkiv region Vitaliy Dudchenko.
As is known, Vitaliy Dudchenko was appointed by the Decree of the President of Ukraine on August 15, 2008, as a judge of the Krasnograd District Court of Kharkiv region for a term of five years. By the decision of the judges' assembly of the Krasnograd District Court of Kharkiv region on August 7, 2024, he was elected to the administrative position of the head of this court (later — Berestynskyi District Court of Kharkiv region).
Circumstances of the case
In the criminal proceedings, the First Deputy Prosecutor General drew up and signed a notice of suspicion against the judge for committing a criminal offense under Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. On the same day, Vitaliy Dudchenko was informed of the suspicion.
According to the investigation, at an unspecified time but no later than February 24, 2026, Vitaliy Dudchenko met with Ihor Tverdokhlib, who held the position of senior investigator of Division No. 2 of the investigative department of the Berestynskyi District Police Department of the National Police in Kharkiv region. On March 24, 2026, Vitaliy Dudchenko, while serving as judge and head of the Berestynskyi District Court of Kharkiv region, received an unlawful benefit of $2000 USD from Ihor Tverdokhlib in his official office (which according to the official exchange rate of the National Bank of Ukraine on March 24 amounted to 87,657.6 UAH). The funds received were seized the same day by law enforcement officers during a search of the judge’s office storage room.
The unlawful benefit, according to the prosecution, was received by the judge for creating conditions under which the automated distribution of the court case on the claim of T. Perevarova to establish a legally significant fact would necessarily be assigned to him, as well as for considering the case and making a favorable decision for the plaintiff.
Thus, Vitaliy Dudchenko is suspected of receiving an unlawful benefit as an official holding a responsible position for actions performed in the interests of a third party using the power and official position granted to him (Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The suspicion, as noted, is supported by collected evidence.
Decision of the High Council of Justice
After analyzing the submission and lengthy discussion, the High Council of Justice decided to refuse consent to detain judge Vitaliy Dudchenko of the Berestynskyi District Court of Kharkiv region. The reason for refusal was that the submission by First Deputy Prosecutor General Mariya Vdovychenko did not comply with the requirements of Parts 1 and 3 of Article 184 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. The decision was made unanimously.
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