Court sets reduced bail for Ukrainian politician in lawmaker bribery case

Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court has declined to impose the full bail amount requested by prosecutors on Yulia Tymoshenko, leader of the Batkivshchyna party, instead setting bail at UAH 33 million ($760,000), lower than the UAH 50 million ($1 million) sought by the prosecution.

On January 15, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced it would seek bail of UAH 50 million for Tymoshenko. The politician, however, stated that her bank accounts had been blocked, making it impossible for her to post bail in that amount. On January 16, Judge Vitalii Dubas partially granted the prosecutor’s motion and approved the reduced bail, Caliber.Az reports, citing Ukrainian media.

The court also imposed a number of procedural obligations on Tymoshenko until March 16, 2026. She is required to appear before National Anti-Corruption Bureau detectives or the court upon request, may not leave the Kyiv region without permission, must surrender her passports for travel abroad, and is obliged to notify law enforcement authorities of any change in her place of residence or employment. In addition, Tymoshenko is prohibited from communicating with a number of members of parliament regarding the circumstances of the case and the notice of suspicion.

The court did not impose an obligation for Tymoshenko to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet. Earlier, her lawyer described the potential use of such a device as “torture,” citing weather conditions and gender-related considerations.

“Your Honor, Yulia is a woman, right? Women’s shoes are different from men’s. And in the winter, in the cold, you have to wear shoes that, let’s say, cannot be worn with an electronic bracelet. Well, this is actually torture,” the lawyer said.

On January 14, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced that Tymoshenko had been formally notified of suspicion of offering bribes to members of parliament from other factions in exchange for their votes. Law enforcement agencies later published audio recordings of alleged wiretaps involving the politician. Tymoshenko has dismissed the case as a “political order” directed against her.

Meanwhile, a source from the Servant of the People party stated that Batkivshchyna’s voting behavior in parliament, including during the failed initial attempt to approve new ministerial appointments, was allegedly linked to efforts to secure certain personnel appointments.

By Vafa Guliyeva