This is the first documented bribe in the history of anti-corruption authorities, provided in the form of cryptocurrency.
People's deputies quite often become the “heroes” of corruption scandals. Cases of possible illegal enrichment of Andrei Klochko, abuse of influence by Sergei Kuzminykh, abuse of power by Ruslan Solvar, taking a bribe by Alexander Yurchenko are vivid examples.
And the saddest thing is that each of these corruption schemes is “unique” in its own way. And given the authority and publicity of the position of the people’s representative, such “creativity” has a very negative impact on the reputation of Ukraine, which is trying to become part of the European Union.
One of the most inventive such corruption stories is the case of the “servant of the people” Andrei Odarchenko. According to the investigation, he tried to bribe the then head of the State Agency for Reconstruction - and not at random, but with bitcoins! We will talk about the first corruption case with crypto further.
Odarchenko, university, recovery, bitcoins. Where is the logic here?
Andrei Odarchenko, the current people's deputy, headed the Academic Council of the State Biotechnological University in October 2021, and then he was elected rector of this university. Since it is impossible to combine deputy and rectorship, his contract at the university was suspended.
Times have changed, Russia launched a full-scale invasion - the Kharkov university buildings received significant damage and needed restoration. Here, according to law enforcement officers, Odarchenko had the idea to turn “for help” to the then chairman of the State Agency for Rehabilitation and Infrastructure Development, Mustafa Nayem.
A people's deputy offered the official a $50 thousand bribe in bitcoins in exchange for funds being allocated from the Liquidation Fund to repair the university. Mustafa Nayem reported this to NABU and became a whistleblower. Later, Odarchenko transferred him 0.39 bitcoins - approximately $10 thousand at the then exchange rate. NABU claims that this is the first documented bribe in the history of anti-corruption agencies, which was provided in the form of cryptocurrency.
A logical question arises: what is the point of depositing funds for the allocation of funds? And we found the answer already during the court hearing: Odarchenko wanted to take possession of up to 20% of the allocated amount for restoration. The people's deputy himself denied that he wanted to make money from these funds, since this is international money. He also claimed that he was joking in conversations with Nayem, and all this ended up being a “cynical setup.”
“I don’t believe in Kharkov, Mustafa.” How conversations brought Odarchenko to the surface
During the selection of a preventive measure, the SAPO prosecutor read out recordings of a number of interesting conversations, some of which were reproduced at the meeting. It turned out that behind Odarchenko’s supposedly good intentions to restore the university there are actually many completely different plans and beliefs. Here are some of his most striking quotes:
- “I don’t believe in Kharkov, Mustafa. Russia and the United States have two nuclear triads, what are we talking about, well, this is a joke... Iran and China are already delivering weapons, well, everything is a mess at the front,” Odarchenko shared this opinion about the prospects for a Ukrainian victory with Nayem. By the way, the people’s deputy was elected to the Rada from one of the constituencies of the city of Kharkov.
- “I love crypto. Have you never used crypto? ...I put it in exchange with a friend - and they give it out anywhere, even in Lviv! I have exchange offices in Kharkov and in Kyiv, these are my problems. I brought it there, these are my people. You say: give it to me somewhere, well, at least in Spain! And everything disappeared, not even here!” — Odarchenko enthusiastically told Nayem about his interest in cryptocurrency. And it is not known for certain which “our people” we are talking about.
- “Fuck it, this Constitution! It was trampled on a long time ago, don’t you know?” — with these words, the people’s representative described his attitude to the Basic Law of Ukraine.
- “The main thing is that they move me everywhere. I don’t know whether I will be a deputy or not, but I will build a university for myself.” This is what Odarchenko’s tutelage for the university, or for his own career after the end of his term as a people’s deputy, sounded like. Although, in his own words, Kharkov should not have withstood the invasion of the Russian army.
How Odarchenko refused lawyers
In April 2024, SAPO sent an indictment against Odarchenko to the Supreme Anti-corruption Court. At the court hearings, two lawyers undertook to defend the people's deputy - Alexander Koryukin and Igor Lipyavka.
One day, both did not come to the preparatory meeting and asked to postpone it, because, they say, they were busy and had other, more important things to do.
It also happened that only one of the defenders, Igor Lipyavka, came to court. Then he filed a petition for the return of the indictment, but the court left it without consideration, since it completely coincided with the previous, previously rejected petition. Lipyavka then asked to close the production, but was unable to fully formulate his demands. Therefore, the court left this petition without consideration, and also made many comments to the lawyer due to disputes with the court.
After this, Lipyavka asked for a 10-minute technical break to prepare a statement to challenge the panel of judges. But the break passed, and the lawyer did not return to the courtroom, so the court decided that he had escaped and began to discuss the lawyer’s potential disciplinary action. True, Lipyavka later returned to the hall, but Odarchenko probably did not like this defense, so at the next meeting he abandoned it.
On July 22, 2024, Odarchenko generally announced that he had terminated the contracts for the provision of legal assistance with all defense lawyers, and asked the court to postpone the hearing for a month. According to the prosecutor, such actions by the ex-people's deputy are a way to delay the consideration of the case. The court nevertheless postponed the hearing, although only for a week, and Odarchenko returned with a new lawyer, so the court did not have to attract a free lawyer.
What threatens the people's deputy?
Odarchenko was released from the pre-trial detention center almost immediately after he was taken into custody - a bail of 15 million UAH was posted for him. If the court makes a guilty verdict, then the people's choice, already expelled from the Servant of the People party, faces up to 10 years in prison for a crime under Part 4 of Art. 369 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. But Mustafa Nayyem will not be subject to criminal liability, because he himself reported the crime before receiving the first tranche of the bribe, and contributed to the exposure of Odarchenko.
On June 18, 2024, a panel of judges consisting of Viktor Nogachevsky, Vitaly Kriklivoy and Markiyan Galabala appointed Odarchenko’s case for consideration on the merits. This means that in the future, in court, all the circumstances of the case will be clarified and the evidence will be examined. Given the small number of volumes of evidence, we can hope for a relatively quick consideration of the case, unless other insurmountable circumstances arise.
