The Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) is preparing an appeal against the High Anti-Corruption Court’s (HACC) June 19 ruling regarding Yulia Kondratieva. She is an accomplice of Oleksandr Karamushka, the former head of the SBU counterintelligence sector, in a case involving the receipt of $47,500 in unlawful benefits. Prosecutors strongly disagree with the court’s decision to mitigate the charges and release the defendant from serving her sentence.
The HACC previously downgraded the charges against Kondratieva from aiding and abetting bribery to abuse of influence (reclassifying the offense from Part 5 of Art. 27, Part 4 of Art. 368 to Part 2 of Art. 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). While the court sentenced her to three years in prison, she was immediately released from serving time due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for criminal liability.
SAPO considers this judicial decision unlawful and unfounded. Prosecutors emphasize that the evidence gathered during the pre-trial investigation clearly demonstrates a far more substantial role played by the defendant in the corruption scheme.
According to the investigation, Yulia Kondratieva was directly involved in setting up the extortion scheme targeting foreign nationals. Specifically, the prosecution documented the following actions:
Organizing Contacts: The defendant arranged meetings between the informant and the SBU officer to discuss extorting money from foreigners in exchange for not revoking their residency permits or initiating deportation.
Finding «Clients»: The woman urged the informant to seek out foreign citizens and compile lists of those who would agree to pay for the intelligence service’s «leniency.»
Consulting and Coordination: She personally proposed the bribe amounts and guided the SBU counterintelligence officer’s actions.
Distribution of Funds: Kondratieva was present during the cash handover and directly received her portion of the illicit funds.
«The accused personally suggested the bribe amount per foreigner, which the SBU employee agreed to, and gave explicit instructions on how the illicit benefits should be distributed,» the prosecution stated.
SAPO intends to restore the original, more severe classification of the case in the court of appeal. The agency has promised to provide updates on the outcome of the appeal hearing.