Case description
The NABU and the SAPO suspect Zakhar Antypov, former prosecutor of the Prosecutor General's Office, and other officials of receiving USD 150,000 in bribes for a promise to lift the seizure of luxury cars.
According to the investigation, prosecutor Zakhar Antypov, together with his intermediary Oleh Halchenko-Avilov, former head of the Department at the Prosecutor General's Office, received USD 150,000 in bribes through accomplice Ihor Osypovych. This amount was supposed to be transferred to the leadership of the Prosecutor General's Office, and they would close the case and return the cars to the owners, as the defendants in the case promised.
The cars in question are Mercedes-Benz S400 CDI, Porsche Macan GTS, Bentley Continental GT, and Land Rover Range Rover, seized in the case of fraud by Everad employees who sold a placebo drug as a medicine for hypertension.
The owner of the cars, in response to the proposal of the Prosecutor General's Office employees, wrote a statement to the NABU, and his representative handed over specially marked money to the defendants. According to the prosecution, Antypov did not actually intend to transfer the bribe to make the promised decision. After he failed to fulfill the promise, Antypov somehow returned the first part of the bribe, but the banknotes were different—the investigation never found the marked banknotes.
The owner of the cars, in response to the proposal of the Prosecutor General's Office employees, wrote a statement to the NABU, and his representative handed over specially marked money to the defendants. According to the prosecution, Antypov did not actually intend to transfer the bribe to make the promised decision. After he failed to fulfill the promise, Antypov somehow returned the first part of the bribe, but the banknotes were different—the investigation never found the marked banknotes.
Antypov is charged with Article 27(4), Article 369(4), and Article 190(4) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Halchenko-Avilov and Osypovych are charged under Article 27(4) and Article 369(4) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
In October 2022, Zakhar Antypov mobilized into the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which led to the separation of the proceedings against him and the suspension of the case. A month later, the case was resumed, as the head of Antypov’s military unit sent a letter about the possibility of granting him business trips for the duration of the court hearings
