Pashinsky pleads guilty to abuse of power and participation in a criminal organization

Former acting head of the Presidential Administration Serhiy Pashinsky has pleaded guilty to abuse of power and participation in a criminal organization.

Under the terms of a plea agreement with the prosecution, he is required to pay approximately EUR 21.4 million — to the state and to various funds — but will not receive a prison sentence.

The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) announced the agreement without naming the convicted individual. Media outlets, however, report that the case concerns Pashinsky.

The case is connected to the seizure of arrested petroleum products belonging to Serhiy Kurchenko between March and June 2014. According to investigators, Pashinsky’s actions caused the state damages exceeding 817 million hryvnias.

Under the terms of the agreement, Pashinsky is required to transfer 600 million hryvnias to the state budget within two and a half years. A further 400 million hryvnias must be transferred to the “Come Back Alive” foundation or provided in the form of agreed-upon weaponry of equivalent value. An additional 100 million hryvnias are to be transferred to the “Serhiy Sternenko Community” for the purchase of weapons for the Defense Forces.

The formal primary punishment is a fine of 850,000 hryvnias. The court did not impose asset confiscation: that penalty for participation in a criminal organization was introduced in 2020 — after the actions with which Pashinsky is charged were committed.

In addition to the payments, Pashinsky agreed to provide investigators with testimony implicating other individuals. If he fails to fulfill the terms of the agreement, SAPO intends to ask the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine to overturn the verdict and have the case heard through standard proceedings.

In 2024, Pashinsky was remanded in custody with the option of posting bail of approximately EUR 5.3 million. He was subsequently released on bail. Prior to that, an audio recording had circulated on social media, allegedly made by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) during surveillance of Pashinsky, in which he reportedly speaks disparagingly about the Azov regiment.