Case description
The HACC found Serhii Novachuk and Oleksandr Stoianov, investigators of the Shevchenkivskyi district tax office in Kyiv, guilty, as well as lawyer Serhii Tarasiuk of extorting money and getting a bribe for assistance in returning property seized during searches.
Defendants were supposed to help ensure that the actions of the person in the criminal proceedings were qualified under an article that did not provide for the confiscation of property. This could have made it possible to return the money and valuables seized during the search. Serhii Novachuk is the former head of the tax investigation department of the Shevchenkivskyi district of Kyiv, and Oleksandr Stoianov is his subordinate.
According to the prosecution, Serhii Tarasiuk informed a person of certain facts of the pre-trial investigation and persuaded him to give a bribe, threatening with possible negative consequences. Serhii Novachuk and Oleksandr Stoianov also reported the need to transfer the bribe amount as soon as possible before the prosecutor's office servedthe suspicion notice and referred the case to court.
During the searches in the office of one of the detainees, material evidence and large sums of money were found: about UAH 1.7 mln, GBP 33,000, EUR 112,000, and USD 270,000.
The HACC found the tax officials guilty of committing a crime under Article 368, part 4 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Serhii Novachuk was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with a ban on holding certain positions for 3 years and confiscation of property. The court also deprived him of his rank of colonel of the tax police.
Oleksandr Stoianov and Serhii Tarasiuk were sentenced to 9 years in prison with a ban on holding office for 3 years and confiscation of property. Serhii Stoianov was deprived of the rank of tax police major.
