The Desnianskyi District Court of Chernihiv has handed down a verdict to Andriy Karaputa, a former prosecutor of the Koriukivka District Prosecutor’s Office, who was caught soliciting a bribe. The official demanded money in exchange for closing a criminal case but managed to avoid actual imprisonment by entering into a plea bargain and transferring a significant financial contribution to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This is stated in the official court ruling.
According to the investigation, Andriy Karaputa was supervising a criminal inquiry into the legality of tree logging along a protective strip near the town of Snovsk. The target of that investigation was the head of the landscaping and maintenance department of the Snovsk City Council.
In October 2025, Karaputa began demanding an illegal benefit to shield the municipal official from criminal liability. During a series of meetings in Snovsk, the prosecutor exerted psychological pressure, claiming the case was being personally monitored by the regional prosecutor’s office leadership, and displayed draft resolutions to close the proceedings. Initially, the demanded bribe amount was $3,000, though the suspect later lowered his demand to $2,500.
On April 17, 2026, a plea agreement was struck between the defendant and a prosecutor from the General Inspection of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
«Under the terms of the agreement, the former prosecutor pledged to unconditionally plead guilty and make a voluntary contribution of 2.5 million UAH to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine,» the court decision reads. This full amount was reportedly transferred over May and June 2026.
The court approved the plea bargain, sentencing Karaputa to 7 years in prison and barring him from holding positions in law enforcement, courts, or the prosecutor’s office for 3 years. However, the court exempted the convict from serving the primary prison sentence, placing him on a 3-year probation period instead.
According to Andriy Karaputa’s official asset declaration for 2025, his annual salary exceeded 1 million UAH. His wife, Olena Karaputa, who works within the State Judicial Administration structure, received 275,000 UAH in wages and 481,000 UAH in social benefits.
The family owns and uses several real estate properties and vehicles:
Real Estate: An apartment in Chernihiv (66.1 sq. m), a residential house (51.2 sq. m) and land plots in the Nizhyn district, a plot in the village of Ivanivka, as well as service housing in Snovsk.
Vehicles: An Acura TLX (2016 model, purchased for 700,000 UAH) and a Toyota RAV-4 Hybrid (2019 model, registered under his wife’s name for 950,000 UAH).
Financial Assets: The couple’s combined cash savings amount to $18,000, with over 575,000 UAH held in bank accounts. Additionally, the former prosecutor declared $59,000 belonging to his father, which is held by the declarant without the right of use.
Corruption offenses among law enforcement officials in the Chernihiv region remain under the scrutiny of the General Inspection as it continues its institutional cleanup efforts.