Case description
The HACC found Andrii Chuiasov, director of the Poltava branch of the Center for Certification and Expertise of Seeds and Horticultural Material (CCESHM), guilty of aiding and abetting abuse of office to obtain a bribe for another legal entity.
The Center for Certification and Expertise of Seeds and Horticultural Material (CCESHM) is a state-owned enterprise with branches in every region of Ukraine. Its mandate is to assess the quality and safety of agricultural products, as well as varietal and sowing qualities of seeds. The Center manages significant land plots for these purposes. However, it does not have its own production facilities for full-scale sowing and crop care, and therefore engages private companies to cultivate the land. Officials of the Poltava branch of the Center implemented a corruption scheme consisting of two separate episodes of abuse.
First episode. In 2020, the Poltava branch concluded contracts with two private companies for the cultivation of CCESHM land. These companies lacked equipment and personnel and therefore engaged farmers to carry out the work. Farmers in fact performed the entire range of tasks up to the harvesting stage. Once the works had already been completed, the same companies initiated amendments to the contracts to increase the price for services already rendered. Branch officials unlawfully approved such changes, despite the absence of any legitimate grounds. As a result, the cost of work was artificially inflated, and the overpaid funds were retained by the counterparties.
Second episode. At the beginning of 2020, the same two companies again acted as counterparties of the Poltava branch of the CCESHM. This time, the branch undertook to supply them with corn from the upcoming harvest. The initial terms of the contracts required that the supply price be adjusted to the market price at the time of delivery. Later, the suspects deliberately amended the contracts to remove this requirement. Following these changes, the corn was sold at nearly half the market price, causing further losses.
In total, the actions of the officials caused losses amounting to UAH 13.4 million. The case involved the director of CCESHM, the head of its Poltava branch, the director of two LLCs, and the ultimate beneficiary of these companies, Volodymyr Bobyl.
Andrii Chuiasov, the head of CCESHM Poltava Branch, was charged with aiding and abetting under Article 364(2) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Before the court, he unconditionally admitted his guilt. The HACC approved the plea agreement and imposed a probationary period of 2 years instead of 4 years in prison. Chuiasov is also required to pay a UAH 8,500 fine and is banned from holding senior positions in business entities for 2 years. In addition, he pledged to transfer UAH 150,000 to the account of the state-owned enterprise, thereby partially compensating for the damage caused.
The court approved a similar sentence with a probationary period in relation to another accomplice, the directors of private companies through which the scheme was implemented.
