On November 24, the HACC imposed a monetary penalty on Member of Parliament Serhii Kuzminykh for his failure to appear at one of the previous court hearings. 

The penalty concerns the hearing held on October 29, which Kuzminykh missed due to his participation in a meeting of a Verkhovna Rada committee. 

The prosecutor considered the reasons for the defendant’s absence to be unjustified and therefore asked the court to impose a financial sanction. 

The HACC addressed an official request to the chair of the committee, seeking clarification as to whether Kuzminykh’s participation in the committee meeting had indeed been necessary and whether it could be considered a valid reason for his absence from court. Since the response reached the court with delay and did not contain a clear position (merely citing legislation) the issue of imposing a monetary penalty was only considered on November 24.

Ultimately, the HACC found the reasons for Kuzminykh’s absence unjustified and imposed a monetary penalty of UAH 6,000. 

In addition, the court intended to continue questioning a witness at the November 24, hearing, but the defense counsel once again failed to appear. The lawyer prioritized attending a preparatory hearing in another case, the date of which had not been coordinated in advance. 

As a result, the HACC also found the reasons for the lawyer’s absence unjustified and ruled to refer the issue of the attorney’s disciplinary liability to the authorized body.