Ex-judge in Kharkiv gets eight years in prison for $4,000 bribe

A panel of the High Anti-Corruption Court on 26 October 2026 sentenced a former deputy head of the Dzerzhynskyi District Court of Kharkiv to eight years in prison for accepting a $4,000 bribe, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) reported.

The office does not name the judge officially, but according to Ukrainska Pravda it is Iryna Hryshchenko. She was caught in May 2020 receiving $4,000 in unlawful benefit for issuing a ruling that returned to the defendant over $30,000 seized during the pre-trial investigation.

The sentence

The court found her guilty under Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code (an official accepting an unlawful benefit on a large scale). She received eight years in prison, a three-year ban on holding posts in the courts and law enforcement, and confiscation of all her property.

The court also changed her preventive measure from bail to detention and ordered her taken into custody in the courtroom. The verdict takes effect after 30 days unless appealed. More world and Ukraine news.