Court confiscates bail of ex-judge Moliboha for failing to attend hearings in bribery case

Case review continues, but the accused is absent

On 28 October, the Appellate Chamber of the Higher Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) began the substantive review of the criminal proceedings against former judge of the Druzhkivka City Court, Hennadii Moliboha, and lawyer Ihor Serikov. They are accused of receiving a bribe of UAH 13,000. Procedural actions in this case have been ongoing since January, but Hennadii Moliboha has never appeared at the court hearings.

Defence cited imprisonment, court found no confirmation

During one of the hearings, Moliboha's defence counsel asked the court to postpone the review, stating that his client was held at the Mensk Correctional Colony. As evidence, the lawyer cited media publications and decisions of the Cassation Criminal Court, in which Moliboha and his accomplice Yahunets were found guilty.

However, the judges reviewed the provided documents and did not find any rulings or orders confirming the fact of Moliboha's detention in a penal institution. The cited decisions related exclusively to Yahunets.

Prosecutor's version and lawyers' arguments

According to the prosecutor's representative, Moliboha is at home in Druzhkivka. The lawyers, however, insisted that they had lost contact with the former judge, arguing that he was in a frontline zone. They also questioned the actions of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), asking why the investigators did not personally go to the accused's home to serve the summons.

Financial sanctions and the issue of the bail provider

Due to systematic failure to attend court hearings, sanctions had already been applied to Hennadii Moliboha. On 28 October, the court granted the prosecutor's motion and ordered the confiscation of UAH 125,340 of bail in favour of the state. This decision is justified by the accused's failure to fulfil his procedural obligations.

A separate topic of discussion became the identity of the bail provider. According to available data, it is Moliboha's son. This information contradicts the defence's position, which claims that the accused is allegedly not informed about court summons.