Anti-corruption court cuts Tymoshenko's bail from UAH 33 million to 266,000

Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) reduced the bail set for Batkivshchyna faction leader Yulia Tymoshenko from UAH 33 million to UAH 266,000 on Monday, 26 October, according to the court's broadcast hearing.

The reduction was requested by Tymoshenko herself. “I really ask the court to change the preventive measure applied to me in the form of bail by reducing its amount from 33 million 280 thousand to 266 thousand 240 hryvnias,” she told the court. The judge granted the motion on this point. The money previously paid as bail will be returned to the people who deposited it.

How the case began

On the evening of 13 January, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office reported exposing the head of a parliamentary faction on corruption charges; sources told Ukrainska Pravda it was Tymoshenko. The agencies said she was exposed offering unlawful benefits to several lawmakers from factions she does not lead in exchange for voting “for” or “against” specific bills. The preliminary charge is under Part 4 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code (offering or giving an unlawful benefit to an official).

Tymoshenko confirmed searches at her party's office but rejected all accusations. She said they began at 21:30 on 13 January while she was alone there, that investigators arrived in five buses without a court order and did not let her call a lawyer. See also our politics coverage.