{"id":620402,"date":"2026-09-29T22:41:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T19:41:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/korabelov.info\/2026\/09\/620402\/evading-punishment-for-three-years-a-judge-convicted-of-taking-a-bribe-was-located-and-taken-to-a-pre-trial-detention-center-sizo\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T22:41:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T19:41:34","slug":"evading-punishment-for-three-years-a-judge-convicted-of-taking-a-bribe-was-located-and-taken-to-a-pre-trial-detention-center-sizo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/korabelov.info\/en\/2026\/09\/620402\/evading-punishment-for-three-years-a-judge-convicted-of-taking-a-bribe-was-located-and-taken-to-a-pre-trial-detention-center-sizo\/","title":{"rendered":"Evading punishment for three years: a judge convicted of taking a bribe was located and taken to a pre-trial detention center (SIZO)"},"content":{"rendered":"

29 September <\/strong>2026 the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced that it had established the whereabouts former judge<\/strong> of the Babushkinsky District Court of the city of Dnipropetrovsk, Andriy Leonov<\/strong>, who was sentenced to 11 years<\/strong> of imprisonment for receiving an unlawful benefit.<\/p>\n

According to the SAP, detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine carried out operational-search measures and established the convict’s location. Currently Andriy Leonov<\/strong> has been taken to a pre-trial detention center.<\/p>\n

According to law enforcement, after the verdict was announced Leonov<\/strong> avoided serving the sentence for more than 3 years<\/strong> and used various methods of concealment. Among them the SAP cites traveling along sparsely populated routes, disguising his appearance, constantly changing means of communication and substituting license plates on vehicles. <\/strong>Sometimes, according to the prosecutor’s office, the convict even used the uniform of an officer of the National Police of Ukraine<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The SAP and NABU exposed the then-judge in May 2018<\/strong>. According to the case materials, Leonov<\/strong> asked for a USD 30,000<\/strong> unlawful benefit and received part of the funds \u2014 USD 15,000<\/strong>. The matter concerned a criminal proceeding that was before the judge. According to the prosecution, the money was to be handed over in exchange for issuing the desired decision.<\/p>\n

27 March 2023<\/strong> the High Anti-Corruption Court found Andriy Leonov<\/strong> guilty under part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine<\/strong> and sentenced him to 11 years of imprisonment<\/strong>. In addition, the court deprived him of the right to hold the position of judge for 3 years<\/strong> after serving the main sentence and ordered the confiscation of his property.<\/p>\n

At the time the sentence was pronounced Andriy Leonov<\/strong> did not appear in court. He also did not appear for the hearing of his appeal. In June 2023<\/strong> he was placed on the wanted list. The Appeal Chamber of the HACC in November 2023<\/strong> left the imposed sentence unchanged, changing only a portion of the reasoning section of the verdict.<\/p>\n

The Criminal Cassation Court as part of the Supreme Court on 15 September 2026<\/strong> considered Leonov<\/strong>‘s cassation appeal. The court left unchanged the HACC verdict of 27 March 2023<\/strong> and the decision of the HACC Appeal Chamber of 2 November 2023<\/strong>. Thus, the decision on 11 years<\/strong> of imprisonment remained in force. Now, after his whereabouts were established, the convict has been brought to a pre-trial detention center to serve the sentence imposed by the court.<\/p>\n

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Earlier we wrote:<\/strong><\/p>\n