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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The High Anti-Corruption Court issued a statement after the controversy surrounding the decision to refuse approval of the plea agreement of People's Deputy Oleksandr Kachnyi. VACs judge-spokesperson Inna Serdiukova emphasized that the ruling concerned a specific agreement, and its legality and justification can only be assessed in the manner prescribed by law, writes Glavcom.
As Serdiukova explained, during consideration of the agreement the court examined, in particular, the issue of property subject to special confiscation, as well as the method proposed by the parties for transferring 3 million UAH to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Under the terms of the agreement, these funds were to be directed through the charitable foundation Return Alive. At the same time, the judge-spokesperson noted that this concerned bail posted by a third person on behalf of the accused, not funds from Kachnyi himself. Therefore the court had to be convinced that the proposed conditions did not violate the rights and lawful interests of the bail provider.
“The agreement proposed transferring the bail funds posted by a third person, not by the accused himself. Under such circumstances, the court had to ensure that the terms of the agreement do not violate the rights and lawful interests of the bail provider,” Serdiukova explained.
VACs separately drew attention to the method of transferring 3 million UAH. The judge-spokesperson stressed that transferring funds to the account of a charitable foundation cannot automatically be equated with direct assistance to the Armed Forces. After receiving the money, the foundation independently determines their further use, and that process is not under the control of the court or the parties to the agreement.
That is why the court relied on the specific circumstances of the case and the materials of the criminal proceeding that were provided to it for consideration.
“The court considered that transferring 3 million UAH to the account of a charitable foundation cannot automatically be equated with direct assistance to the Armed Forces, and the further use of these funds is beyond the control of the court and the parties to the agreement,” the judge-spokesperson's statement reads.
The agency emphasized that the subject of review was not the activity of the charitable foundation nor the question of the possibility of making donations in support of the Ukrainian army. The court was checking whether the agreement proposed by the parties complies with legal requirements and whether it can be approved.
As a result of the review, the court refused to approve the agreement. The criminal proceeding against Kachnyi remains under the court’s consideration. Earlier, the SAP stated that it disagreed with the VACs decision and considers it one that creates obstacles to the use of plea agreements in corruption cases.
At the same time, the judge-spokesperson urged against making public conclusions about the correctness or motives of the court's decision outside the procedure established by law. In her words, public assessments can create in society a distorted understanding of the content of the ruling and exert external, including media, pressure on the court.
It is emphasized that it was also reported that the ruling of 28 September 2026 year took legal effect and is not subject to appeal.
As Glavcom reported, in the spring of 2026 the NABU and SAP exposed current People's Deputy Oleksandr Kachnyi for illegal enrichment. The investigation established that over the years 2020–2021 the deputy became the owner of assets totaling almost 13 million UAH, which significantly exceeded the level of his officially declared income. With those funds the official purchased a cottage and a plot of land on the Black Sea coast (the village of Koblevo), and also bought an apartment in central Kyiv with an area of 132,6 sq. m.
Law enforcement emphasized that the cost of the design project services for the latter and the apartment’s renovation alone amounted to more than 5,5 million UAH.
Recall that the High Anti-Corruption Court approved a plea agreement with former acting Head of the Presidential Administration Serhii Pashynskyi in the case of the misappropriation of seized petroleum products in 2014. Under the terms of the agreement, he must transfer 600 million UAH to the state budget's general fund as reimbursement for the established losses. The funds are to be paid in stages over 2,5 year after the verdict takes legal effect.
Another 400 million UAH Pashynskyi must transfer to the Return Alive foundation or provide arms supplies worth that sum according to an agreed list. A further 100 million UAH are to be sent to the charity fund Community Sternenko to purchase weapons for the Defense Forces of Ukraine.
In addition, the court imposed a fine on Pashynskyi in the amount of 850 thousand UAH. He must also pay 17 thousand UAH as an additional penalty, which additionally includes a ban on holding positions in state bodies and local self-government for one year.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Суд зробив заяву після жорсткого рішення стосовно угоди з нардепом Качним". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ZmiOne.
