Horbasenko Pavlo Volodymyrovych

From a Rapid Rise to the Chair of the Court: A Millionaire from Pripyat and a Favorite of Themis

Pavlo Volodymyrovych Horbasenko began his judicial career in 2010, and by 2020 he headed the Commercial Court of Kyiv Region. Later, he was promoted to the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal. Throughout his career, his financial status rapidly improved: his family acquired elite apartments in Kyiv, luxury cars, and a house near Kyiv with an area exceeding 800 sq. m. Despite a negative conclusion from the Public Integrity Council due to questionable sources of income, in 2024 the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ) recognized him as fully fit for the position in just 10 minutes of the meeting.

Suspicious Millions in Bonds, Father's Business in Crimea, and a Fictional Divorce

The main scandal surrounding the judge concerns the legalization of his wealth: Horbasenko claimed to have earned his first million by purchasing securities in a bank and selling them the same day at ten times the price, although he officially did not have money to make the initial purchase. Additionally, activists accuse his father of conducting business in annexed Crimea and paying taxes to the Russian Federation, where he purchased an apartment over 330 sq. m after the occupation began. Questions also arise about the judge's divorce from former Kyiv City Council deputy Hanna Svyridenko: after the marriage was dissolved, the couple continued to travel abroad together, and three years later had a child, which journalists interpret as a possible concealment of shared assets. Furthermore, the media accused the judge of plagiarism during his defense of a Candidate of Sciences dissertation.