This is reported by Kyiv24
Bail totaling nearly 36.7 million hryvnias has been posted for two members of the “Servant of the People” faction — Olga Savchenko and Yevhen Pivovarov, who are suspected of receiving illegal benefits for their votes in the Verkhovna Rada. Journalists have discovered that these funds were provided by a lawyer and several individuals.
Details of Bail Posting and Investigation Progress
On January 8, one of Olga Savchenko’s lawyers, Ihor Fomin, posted a bail of 16.6 million hryvnias set by the High Anti-Corruption Court. According to Fomin, he paid part of the funds personally, while the rest had to be borrowed due to the significant amount required for the suspects’ bail.
“Part of the funds posted is my personal money, and I had to borrow the rest due to the large bail amounts for the participants in the case. Now the prosecution and defense will continue to work within the framework of the pre-trial investigation.”
On the same day, bail of nearly 20 million hryvnias was paid for Yevhen Pivovarov by seven individuals, with their contributions ranging from 150,000 to 5 million hryvnias.
At the beginning of January, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office reported that the High Anti-Corruption Court had set bail for five deputies in the bribery case related to voting in parliament. Two suspects were assigned bail amounts of 40 million and 30 million hryvnias, two others were set at 20 million each, and the fifth deputy at 16.6 million hryvnias. All suspects were assigned procedural obligations, including wearing electronic monitoring devices. Court sessions were held behind closed doors, and lawyers refrained from making comments.
Circumstances of the Case and Suspicions Against the Deputies
At the end of December, NABU detectives and SAP prosecutors announced the uncovering of an organized criminal group that included current members of parliament. According to the investigation, they systematically received illegal benefits for “necessary” votes in the Verkhovna Rada. According to anti-corruption agencies, the amounts of illegal benefits ranged from 2,000 to 20,000 US dollars. Specifically, from September to November 2022, the bribe amount was 2,000 dollars, and by August 2025, it had increased to 5,000 US dollars.
The investigation established that the organization of votes was carried out through a specially created group in the WhatsApp messenger, where participants received instructions with bill numbers. After voting, certain deputies were systematically handed cash. According to SAP, the distribution of money usually occurred every Thursday at the beginning of the following month after the organizer’s instructions were executed.
Investigative actions recorded that one deputy received at least 145,000 US dollars in illegal benefits in November-December of the current year, which was subsequently distributed among other members of parliament.
NABU did not disclose the names of the deputies, but media reports indicate that they are members of the “Servant of the People” faction: Yevhen Pivovarov, Ihor Negulevskyi, Yurii Kisiel, Olga Savchenko, and Mykhailo Laba.
Yevhen Pivovarov declined to comment on the case, citing the ongoing investigation. Mykhailo Laba stated on his Telegram channel that he intends to familiarize himself with the case materials and emphasized the unfounded nature of the accusations. Yurii Kisiel publicly rejected the allegations from NABU and SAP, stating that there were no bribes for votes, although he confirmed the existence of a WhatsApp group with 22 deputies, asserting that none of them received illegal benefits. Olga Savchenko’s lawyer reported that there is a formal prohibition on disclosing information in this case.
The pre-trial investigation into the organization of bribes for voting in the Verkhovna Rada is ongoing.