Judge of the Mostyskyi District Court of Lviv Oblast Yuriy Bilous is again administering justice, although he remains a defendant in criminal proceedings of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. The judge's return to work was announced in the court at the request of journalists from "Slidstva.Info".
Earlier, the High Council of Justice suspended Bilous from work for a month on suspicion of influencing employees of the territorial recruitment center in order to “resolve the issue” of his cousin. According to the prosecutor's office, the judge used his official position to exempt his relative from mobilization for money, and the employees of the CCC gave him a “discount”: instead of 12 thousand dollars, he paid 8.
According to law enforcement, in June of this year, the judge's cousin was taken to the CCC, but thanks to Bilous's intervention, the decision to mobilize was never made. The investigation recorded how the judge met with his niece, received money from her, brought it to the CCC, and left with his relative.
SAPO prosecutor Alina Zhovnytska reported that in the car, law enforcement officers recorded a conversation between the judge and his brother, during which he said: "They asked for 12, I gave 8."
According to the investigation, Bilous is also suspected of lying in his declaration - the prosecutor's office claims that he did not indicate the family's real estate, cars, and land plot worth over 7.5 million UAH, and also did not declare cohabitation with his ex-wife in an apartment in Sykhiv.
Lawyer Oleh Slobodianyk says the suspicions are unfounded and the High Council of Justice's decision to remove him is wrong. He insists that the judge only "took a relative" from the CCC, where, according to the defense, they could have acted illegally against the man.
Bilous considers his actions to be "extreme necessity," explaining that his relative is over 50 years old, has reservations, and ended up in the CCC hundreds of kilometers from home.
The SAPO reported that the investigation is in its final stages and should be completed this winter. After that, the materials will be transferred to the court.
In September, the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court imposed a preventive measure on Bilous - a bail of over 60 thousand hryvnias. The SAPO emphasizes that the suspension was necessary because the judge could influence witnesses, including the leadership of the Turka CCC.
Despite this, after the suspension period expired, the judge returned to his duties.
