A bail of 1369 dollars has been set: the court has imposed a preventive measure on the Member of Parliament from the ‘Sluga naroda’ party, who was throwing dollars over the fence

A measure of restraint has been imposed on Ukraine’s Member of Parliament, Lyudmila Marchenko, who is suspected of abusing her power.

A judge from the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine has set a bail amount of 53,600 hryvnias (approximately 1,369 euros). This is the maximum amount allowed by law for non-serious offenses. Marchenko has also been ordered to surrender her passport and to report to the investigator or judge upon their first request.

The decision regarding MP Marchenko was announced by the press service of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SACPO).

The hearing took place on Wednesday, September 20th. Marchenko is suspected of abusing her influence for unlawful gain, which falls under Part 2 of Article 369-2 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code.

“Jointly with her assistant, the Member of Parliament promised citizens, in exchange for monetary rewards, to ensure that authorized individuals of the regional military administration would make decisions allowing them to leave Ukraine. Additionally, they promised to enter the corresponding information into the ‘Shlyakh’ Information System,” the statement reads.

As of today, two instances of unlawful activity by the Member of Parliament and her assistant have been identified. The investigation has evidence of her receiving 11,300 US dollars (417,000 hryvnias, which is 7.5 times the bail amount) from two individuals. She promised these men unhindered border crossings.

The court applied a restraint measure to Marchenko in the form of a bail of 53,600 hryvnias. It’s worth noting that this is the maximum bail amount allowed by law for this offense. She is also subject to the following procedural obligations: reporting to the investigator, prosecutor, and court as required, and surrendering her foreign passport to the relevant government authorities.

To recap, on July 5th, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine revealed an illegal scheme for Ukrainian conscripts to leave the country. The organizer of this scheme was identified as Member of Parliament Lyudmila Marchenko, who was subsequently expelled from her faction after the scandal broke. It was reported that Marchenko systematically accepted bribes in exchange for granting permissions for men to leave the country through the “Shlyakh” system.

During a search at Marchenko’s residence in Ternopil, she attempted to conceal evidence and threw “bribe” dollars over the fence, as if they didn’t belong to her. However, investigators captured everything on surveillance cameras.