The head of the Ternopil Regional Council, Mykhaylo Holovko, suspected of extorting UAH 2.4 million in bribes, has been reinstated in his position. The decision was made by the Eighth Administrative Court of Appeal in Lviv on 1 August, Zaxid.net reports.
In his lawsuit, Holovko asked to be reinstated and paid UAH 591,000 in compensation for ‘forced absenteeism’. The plaintiff and his lawyers argued that the extraordinary session at which he was suspended was illegal, so its decisions were also illegal.
Oksana Mykhalchuk, a representative of the Ternopil Regional Council, said at the court hearing that the session was, in her opinion, legal. She noted that 51 deputies who were present at the session voted unanimously in favour of dismissing Holovko. She also rejected Holovko's suggestion that pressure was exerted on the deputies.
‘The resolution to reinstate Mykhaylo Holovko was adopted by a panel of judges consisting of Serhiy Kuzmych, Lyubomyr Hudym and Volodymyr Kachmar,’ the journalists said.
The case of Mykhaylo Holovko
Mykhaylo Holovko became the head of the regional council in November 2020. In June 2023, he and two deputy heads of the civil-military administration were detained while taking a bribe. The court sent him to a pre-trial detention centre with the possibility of bail of over UAH 805,000, and Holovko used this opportunity.
Attempts were made to remove Holovko from office through the HACC, but this court refused twice. Finally, in October, MPs voted to dismiss him. Holovko decided to challenge this in court.
In November, the court placed Holovko under round-the-clock house arrest, but in February, it reduced the measure to night detention.