Servant of the People MP Kuzminykh detained in bribery case – NABU
Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities said they detained a sitting member of parliament accused of taking bribes in exchange for helping private companies win tenders to supply medical equipment in Zhytomyr Oblast, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) reported.
The agencies did not officially name the lawmaker, but RBC-Ukraine reported that the detainee was Servant of the People faction member Serhii Kuzminykh.
NABU said the case dates back to 2022, when the lawmaker was caught “red-handed” while receiving a bribe of 558,000 hryvnias ($17,094).
According to investigators, the member of parliament received the money through a trusted intermediary. The amount was equal to 30% of the value of a contract for the supply of an ultrasound diagnostic system signed between a municipal hospital in Zhytomyr and a private company. Investigators said the money was intended in exchange for influence over hospital officials to ensure that company was declared the winner of the public procurement process.
NABU also said the lawmaker guaranteed that, for a “kickback” of 30%, he would use his influence in the future to secure funding and implementation of two more contracts — for an MRI system and laparoscopic equipment — worth more than 38 million hryvnias ($846,091) in total.
The lawmaker’s actions were classified under Part 2 of Article 369-2 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, abuse of influence. The indictment was sent to court in 2022.
Despite that, NABU said, the defendant repeatedly failed to appear at hearings over nearly four years.
According to NABU, the lawmaker missed hearings on October 29, 2025, and on March 30, June 1 and June 22, 2026. For two of those absences, the court imposed monetary penalties in rulings dated November 24, 2025, and April 27, 2026. Some of the absences, NABU said, were explained by foreign business trips that coincided with scheduled court hearings.
The agency said the defendant’s systematic evasion of court proceedings created a real risk of delaying the proceedings.