Pashinsky admitted guilt and agreed to pay 1.1 billion UAH

Former People's Deputy and ex-acting head of the Presidential Administration Sergey Pashinsky admitted guilt in abuse of power and participation in a criminal organization. Under the terms of the agreement, he must direct a total of 1.1 billion UAH to the state and the Defense Forces, while not receiving a real prison term.

The approval of the plea agreement on September 24 was reported by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. The SAPO did not disclose the name of the convicted person, but the position, circumstances, and qualification of the case cited by the agency point to Pashinsky.

The High Anti-Corruption Court approved the agreement between the prosecutor and the former official. He admitted guilt under Part 1 of Art. 255 of the Criminal Code — participation in a criminal organization, as well as under Part 2 of Art. 364 — abuse of power or official position, which caused grave consequences.

The key condition of the deal was the financial obligations of the convicted person. In total, about 1.1 billion UAH should be directed to the state and to support the Defense Forces. Thus, the amount of payments stipulated by the agreement exceeds the amount of damage, which the investigation had previously estimated at 967 million UAH.

The case is related to almost 97,000 tons of petroleum products that belonged to the structures of businessman Sergey Kurchenko and were seized by the state in 2014. According to NABU and SAPO, Pashinsky, together with businessman Sergey Tishchenko and other defendants, organized a scheme as a result of which the seized fuel came under the control of private companies.

The investigation claimed that the group members secured the transfer of petroleum products to the state enterprise "Ukrtransnefteprodukt", the management of which was controlled by persons associated with the defendants. Subsequently, the fuel was sold at prices significantly below market to a company from Tishchenko's group with deferred payment.

According to the anti-corruption authorities, the proceeds from the further sale of fuel were concentrated among the participants of the scheme, while the state did not receive the funds due to it. Some of the petroleum products were used to create the appearance of supplies to the Ministry of Defense.

Pashinsky was notified of suspicion in February 2024. Then the HACC sent him into custody with the possibility of posting 272.5 million UAH bail. The very next day, the required amount was paid by enterprises that are part of the defense industry association he headed.

The court rejected the first attempt to conclude an agreement with the investigation in June 2026. The HACC then pointed out a number of shortcomings in the document, in particular questions regarding the agreed punishment and confiscation. After that, the parties prepared a new version of the agreement, which the court has now approved.

Another key figure in the case, businessman Sergey Tishchenko, concluded an agreement with SAPO back in 2025. He was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment, but was released from actually serving the sentence with a probation period of three years.

Based on materials from: Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, Transparency International Ukraine