The court ordered the registration of a case concerning alleged “envelopes” for Arahamia

The High Anti-Corruption Court ordered Acting Prosecutor General Anton Kovalskyi to enter information about a possible crime by David Arakhamia, head of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction, into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations. The alleged offense involves handing envelopes of money to members of parliament in exchange for votes in parliament.

The court ruling was reported by the Anti-Corruption Action Center. The organization’s complaint over the acting prosecutor general’s inaction was upheld by HACC investigative judge Markiian Halabala.

The case involving envelopes for MPs has a backstory spanning different periods. According to the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, before the full-scale invasion, there were periods in Ukraine when bribes to members of parliament reached $20,000 a month.

In late December 2025, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the SAPO announced that they had uncovered an organized criminal group involving sitting members of parliament. Investigators believe its members systematically received undue benefits in exchange for supporting certain decisions in the Verkhovna Rada.

SAPO prosecutors notified five members of parliament that they were suspects. According to investigators, they arranged for bribes to be paid in exchange for votes, with the amounts ranging from $2,000 to $20,000.

As part of the case into payments to MPs in envelopes, searches were also conducted at the home of an aide to David Arakhamia in late 2025.

On October 19, the Anti-Corruption Action Center filed a complaint over the alleged distribution of money by the faction leader. The organization described the acting prosecutor general’s response as follows:

“Kovalskyi brushed us off, just like Kravchenko: he said that NABU was already investigating and forwarded the complaint there,” the Anti-Corruption Action Center reported.

The ACAC stresses that only the prosecutor general or an acting prosecutor general is authorized to open criminal proceedings against a member of parliament. NABU also confirmed that without the relevant entry in the URPI, the Bureau cannot investigate Arakhamia’s possible actions.

We previously reported:

• NABU and SAPO complete pre-trial investigation into Tymoshenko: suspected of bribing MPs with advance payments
• ₴33 million bail: High Anti-Corruption Court imposes a preventive measure on Yulia Tymoshenko
• Envelopes, wiretaps, and “cash windows”: NABU revisits shadow payments to MPs
• “$5,000 for each vote”: corruption scandal in the Mykolaiv City Council
• Scandal in “Servant of the People”: MPs bribed and one of their husbands arrested (video)