The Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has upheld the sentence passed against Petro Kondratenko, former rector of Donetsk National Medical University (DonNMU). Kondratenko was sentenced in absentia to 9 years in prison for accepting an unlawful benefit and money laundering.
The panel of judges dismissed the appeal filed by the defense, leaving the first-instance verdict of January 13, 2026, unchanged. The ruling took legal effect immediately upon announcement, though the defense retains the right to file a final appeal with the Supreme Court within three months.
In addition to the prison term, the court ordered the special confiscation of two luxury SUVs—a 2017 BMW X3 and a 2018 BMW X5.
According to investigators, university leadership operated a systemic bribery ring targeting international students. Officials routinely extorted kickbacks from commercial recruitment agencies that assist foreign applicants with admissions to Ukrainian universities. Agencies that refused to pay were threatened with artificial administrative delays and hurdles during student enrollment.
Law enforcement documented that in 2018, Kondratenko received the two premium BMW vehicles—valued at over $100,000—from a commercial representative in exchange for «non-interference» in student admissions.
Both vehicles were later seized during law enforcement searches at university branches in Kramatorsk and Kropyvnytskyi. Because the former rector is currently hiding from justice, the entire trial took place under special in absentia proceedings.