The High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) has extended the pre-trial investigation into a high-profile bribery scheme involving officials from the Main Directorate of the State Tax Service in Sumy Oblast until October 16, 2026. The investigating judge partially granted the motion submitted by detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), increasing the total duration of the investigation to seven months.
The primary suspect in the ongoing investigation remains Liudmyla Diadchenko, Head of the Tax Audit Department at the Sumy State Tax Service, who faces allegations of soliciting and receiving illicit gains. Her subordinate, Eduard Bakhmut, a Chief State Inspector in the same department, is also named as a co-suspect in the case.
Recent investigative actions have uncovered two additional accomplices involved in concealing the illicit activity. Law enforcement authorities have officially served them with notices of suspicion under the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
Part 1 of Article 396 — Concealment of a grave or especially grave crime without prior promise;
Part 1 of Article 198 — Acquisition, storage, or sale of property known to be obtained through criminal means.
“The motion of the NABU detective is to be partially granted. The term of the pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings shall be extended to seven months, namely until October 16, 2026,” the court ruling states.
The crackdown on the Sumy tax office is part of a broader push by Ukrainian anti-corruption institutions to dismantle bribery networks within public financial agencies. Concurrently, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecution Office (SAPO) is preparing to finalize another related high-level prosecution.
Following October 5, SAPO is expected to submit an indictment to the court regarding Member of Parliament Anna Skorokhod and her assistant, Serhii Kapatsyna, regarding their alleged involvement in bribery and trading in influence.
The extended investigation deadline will allow NABU detectives to finalize forensic examinations, process covert audio recordings, and draw up the definitive indictment for trial.