The High Anti-Corruption Court has remanded MP Serhiy Labazyuk (For the Future party) in custody with a possibility of bail of UAH 40.2 million. This was reported by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. The Anti-Corruption Action Centre added that the decision was made by investigating judge Volodymyr Voronko.
If bail is granted, Labazyuk will have to comply with the obligations imposed by the court, including surrendering his passports and not communicating with other suspects and witnesses.
Labazyuk was detained on 24 November for attempting to bribe a top official of the Ministry of Reconstruction. He asked for contracts to rebuild infrastructure facilities worth UAH 1 billion to be awarded to his company. For this, he promised a "reward" of 3-5% of the value of each contract.
On the same day, MP Odarchenko (Servant of the People party) was detained for asking for bitcoins to help him obtain funds from the fund for the liquidation of the consequences of Russia's armed aggression to repair an infrastructure facility under his control.
Labazyuk is a majoritarian from Khmelnytskyy Region who was first elected to the Verkhovna Rada in 2012 as a self-nominated candidate, then re-elected in 2014 and 2019. In 2014, he was elected in a constituency in Khmelnytskyy Region as a non-partisan independent. He was elected to the current convocation in the same constituency 188, also as a self-nominee, but in 2020 he joined Za Maybutnye (For the Future) party.