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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
"Bribe in a bag of tomatoes": Judge Shcherbyna sentenced to 5 years for 2 thousand dollars
Pavlohrad Court judge of Dnipropetrovsk region Oleksandr Shcherbyna was found guilty of soliciting and receiving a bribe.
The NABU released a photo of a transparent bag supposedly containing tomatoes, inside of which folded dollar bills were lying. Shcherbyna himself asked the interlocutor to put 1 thousand dollars there, despite concerns about cameras and the risk of exposure. Earlier the judge had already received 1 thousand dollars in the courtroom — the man put the money in a folder with documents. He valued that sum as payment for an acquittal for the director of a construction company who was on trial for alleged violations while performing work commissioned by the Pavlohrad City Council.
In a statement to NABU the man said that once after a hearing the judge asked him to stay and during the conversation hinted that if he wanted “everything to be fine” and the verdict to be acquittal, money was needed — 2 thousand dollars.
NRSD materials show that Shcherbyna repeatedly communicated with the defendant outside the proceedings and discussed the upcoming decision. He advised changing the defense attorney and hiring his former assistant. That lawyer was supposed to prepare the acquittal verdict instead of the judge. The judge’s assistant testified in VAKS that she prepared about 90% of the verdicts in Shcherbyna’s cases, but in this case the judge brought her the text of the verdict on a flash drive.
17 July 2025 a final court hearing and Shcherbyna’s withdrawal to the deliberation room were scheduled, but the prosecutor did not appear.
The judge personally dictated to the defendant the text of a complaint against the prosecutor and instructed him what to say in the court hearing. A week and a half later the hearing nevertheless took place, and Shcherbyna delivered an acquittal verdict. That same day a search was conducted in the judge’s office.
Shcherbyna pled partially guilty. He said he is pained and sorry for what happened, but denied that he demanded money. He asked the court to take into account his age, state of health, donations to the Armed Forces, and the fact of voluntary mobilization.
The VAKS trial ran from March. In June Shcherbyna voluntarily mobilized, chose a combat unit, and was assigned as a machine gunner. After that the defense tried to halt the proceedings, citing his participation in combat missions and inability to attend hearings even remotely. However, the medical–military commission found Shcherbyna fit only for service in rear units. In addition, the law prohibits enlistment into the Armed Forces of persons accused of committing a serious corruption crime whose case is at the stage of judicial proceedings.
The military unit reported that Shcherbyna did not inform it about the criminal proceedings. After an official inquiry the responsible officials were subjected to disciplinary action. Despite the unlawful mobilization, Shcherbyna continued to serve, causing several hearings to be disrupted. Although command promised to ensure his participation in court hearings, during the debates it turned out that Shcherbyna had been dispatched to perform a combat mission.
The court found that the defense repeatedly abused procedural rights by filing motions to suspend proceedings and other applications that delayed the trial. The court found Shcherbyna guilty and sentenced him to 5 years of imprisonment with confiscation of property.
Interestingly, the acquittal verdict for which Shcherbyna allegedly received the bribe remained uncancelled, although the prosecutor filed an appeal.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "«Хабар у торбинці з помідорами»: суддю Щербину засудили до 5 років за 2 тисячі доларів". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ANTIKOR.
