The Svyatoshynskyi District Court of Kyiv has found defense attorney Liubov Voropai guilty of attempted fraud and incitement to bribery. The lawyer was sentenced to five years in prison for attempting to extort $50,000 from an acquaintance under the pretext of bribing Odesa law enforcement officers to drop a criminal investigation.
The case began in March 2024, when Kyiv patrol police stopped a driver named Serhiy for a traffic violation. During a routine document check, officers discovered that the man had been on a wanted list since 2014 regarding an Odesa-based fraud case. While at the police station, Serhiy contacted Voropai, a long-time acquaintance, seeking legal assistance.
The attorney decided to exploit her client’s vulnerable situation. She assured Serhiy that she possessed high-level connections with an influential «general» and Odesa investigators who could permanently remove him from the wanted database and close the case in exchange for cash.
According to court records, the financial demands escalated rapidly. The initial sum of $5,000 quickly ballooned to $50,000. Voropai insisted that the funds were strictly intended for officials as a bribe and claimed she was not profiting from the deal. Furthermore, the defendant intimidated Serhiy, warning that if he failed to pay, he faced up to 10 years in prison, and his family would receive threats from «Odesa law enforcement and gangsters.» Unable to afford the sum, the victim reported the extortion to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
Subsequent conversations between Serhiy and the lawyer were recorded during covert investigative operations. On June 6, 2024, a sting operation was executed at a Shell gas station on Kyiv’s Ring Road. Inside her Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, Voropai accepted an envelope containing an initial payment of $12,000 from the victim.
From the case files:
«Upon spotting the approaching operatives, the defendant locked the car doors and frantically wiped the envelope with her clothes to remove fingerprints before shoving it under the seat. She attempted to flee the scene, but the victim managed to pull the keys out of the ignition, preventing her escape.»
During the trial, Liubov Voropai pleaded not guilty. She maintained that she shared a close, trusting relationship with Serhiy and was merely providing legitimate legal assistance through verbal consultations. The defense argued that the requested funds represented a standard legal fee, part of which was intended for a co-counsel in Odesa, rather than a bribe.
However, the Svyatoshynskyi District Court of Kyiv dismissed these arguments. Audio recordings clearly demonstrated that the accused demanded the money specifically to pay off third parties, an action outside any legal framework. Furthermore, no formal legal services contract had ever been signed or agreed upon.
The court found the lawyer guilty of attempted grand fraud and incitement to bribery, sentencing her to 5 years in prison without confiscation of property.
Until the verdict takes full legal effect, the convict remains free on a 1.2 million UAH bail.