The Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court rejected Yulia Tymoshenko’s appeal against the preventive measure in the form of bail in the amount of UAH 33 million. At the same time, the court allowed her to communicate with members of parliament and move around Ukraine.
This was reported by Suspilne.
On January 26, the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court considered Yulia Tymoshenko’s complaint against the decision of the court of first instance, which imposed a preventive measure in the form of a bail of UAH 33 million on her.
During the hearing, the defense requested permission for the suspect to leave the Kyiv region. The lawyer said that earlier, a NABU detective had refused Yulia Tymoshenko permission to travel to Lviv for a working international meeting, while the court had ordered her not to leave the region.
Yulia Tymoshenko requested that the investigating judge’s decision be overturned, stating that she considered the case to be political. She also denied the transfer of funds and noted that the audio recording referred to by the prosecution had been edited.
The defense emphasized that the detective had requested bail of 50 million hryvnia, but the court of first instance had set the amount at 33 million without proper justification. The lawyer noted that the alleged crime was related to professional activities and was not particularly serious.
The prosecutor opposed the appeal and called the defense’s arguments unfounded. He requested that the bail be increased to 50 million hryvnia, citing the content of telephone conversations, searches, the suspect’s financial situation, and the risks involved. The prosecutor also noted that third parties had already paid the full amount of bail for Yulia Tymoshenko.
After considering the case, the court rejected the appeal and left the preventive measure unchanged. At the same time, Yulia Tymoshenko was allowed to communicate with members of parliament and move freely within Ukraine. Clashes between the politician’s supporters and security personnel were reported at the entrance to the court during the hearing.
The Tymoshenko case: details
Yulia Tymoshenko is suspected of offering bribes to members of parliament. According to the investigation, during searches on January 13 at the office of the Batkivshchyna party, $40,000 was seized from her, which, according to law enforcement officials, could have been intended to bribe three deputies from another faction in order to influence the vote. The SAP informed the politician of the suspicion and released a recording of a conversation with one of the MPs.
Yulia Tymoshenko rejects the accusations, claiming that the case is politically motivated, that the audio recording has been falsified, and that the seized funds are her personal savings. On January 16, the High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a preventive measure in the form of bail in the amount of 33.3 million hryvnias with additional obligations, in particular, not to leave the Kyiv region without the permission of the investigation.
On January 21, the court partially granted the prosecutors’ request to seize property, arresting garages, cars, and items seized during searches of Yulia Tymoshenko’s husband, while her bank accounts remained accessible. On January 23, it became known that the full amount of bail had been paid for the politician.