The HACC has arrested the fugitive deputy Odarchenko in absentia

The HACC has arrested the fugitive deputy Odarchenko in absentia

The High Anti-Corruption Court made a decision in absentia to arrest a member of parliament suspected of bribery. The decision was made in absentia because the MP did not attend the court hearing. Additionally, 15 million UAH, which the politician posted as bail, were collected in favor of the state.

This was reported by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. It was also noted that the People’s Deputy is accused of attempting to bribe the then head of the State Agency for Restoration and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine, Mustafa Nayyem.

According to journalist Oleh Novikov, the People’s Deputy in question is Andriy Odarchenko from the "Servant of the People" party. The respective decision was made by High Anti-Corruption Court judge Viktor Nohachevskyi.

Previously, on September 18, the member of parliament did not attend the court session and did not inform the court and the prosecutor about the reasons for his absence. Later, his lawyers explained that they could not contact the court to inform about their client’s whereabouts, as they currently have no communication with him.

At the session on September 19, it was revealed that while in Kyiv, Odarchenko asked his driver to stop in the city, intending to walk to the Verkhovna Rada building, and handed over his three phones to the driver for charging. After that, the driver did not see Odarchenko, and no one could contact him. He had not been home since September 17.

Detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine found that the MP sought asylum in Romania. He crossed the border in the area of the village of Krasnoilsk in the Chernivtsi region, although he did not have official documentation for a business trip and did not officially cross the border.