The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine has issued a verdict against former President Viktor Yanukovych in a case concerning the illegal appropriation of state property. According to the court’s decision dated January 20, the ex-president received a final sentence of 15 years of imprisonment. The verdict was delivered in absentia, as Yanukovych is currently wanted.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Details of the Verdict and Circumstances of the Case
The court sentenced Yanukovych to 12 years in prison and also stripped him of the right to hold certain positions for three years. Additionally, all property owned by him is subject to confiscation. Since Yanukovych was already convicted by the Podil District Court of Kyiv in 2025 for another case, the final punishment was determined by absorbing the less severe sentence into the more severe one — 15 years of imprisonment.
“According to part 4 of Article 70 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, based on the totality of crimes by absorbing a less severe punishment into a more severe one under this verdict and the verdict of the Podil District Court of Kyiv dated April 28, 2025, the High Anti-Corruption Court has assigned him a final punishment of 15 years of imprisonment,” the press service adds.
The term of imprisonment will begin from the moment of Yanukovych’s actual detention. Furthermore, another accused individual in the case was sentenced to seven years in prison with property confiscation, but he was released from punishment due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
Mechanism of Illegal Appropriation of Lands and Other Cases Against Yanukovych
The investigation established that in 2007, while serving as Prime Minister, Yanukovych initiated decisions that allowed for the illegal removal of lands from state ownership within the forest fund of the Dnipro-Teteriv forestry and hunting economy in the territory of the Sukholuchchia rural council in Kyiv Oblast. To implement the scheme, close associates were involved, who approached the Kyiv Regional State Administration requesting plots of land up to 1 hectare, and later initiated changes in the intended use of these lands. This subsequently allowed for the transfer of the lands to a company controlled by Yanukovych.
Between 2009 and 2011, a hotel and restaurant complex was built on these lands, which was used by the ex-president for personal purposes. Since all individuals involved in the case are wanted, the proceedings were conducted in a special manner.
In addition to this case, in April 2025, the Podil District Court of Kyiv sentenced Yanukovych and former Deputy Head of the State Protection Department, Kostiantyn Kobzar, in absentia to 15 and 10 years respectively for the illegal transportation of individuals across the border. In 2019, Yanukovych was already found guilty of treason and complicity in waging aggressive war, receiving a sentence of 13 years of imprisonment.