The court has been hearing the case against the mayor of Bashtanka for 10 years now — this time, the witness Bloshko failed to appear

The case against Oleksandr Berehovyi is being heard by Judge Serhii Yanchuk. Photo: NikVesti

Today, 6 May, the Bashtanka District Court was due to question one of the witnesses in the case of Oleksandr Berehovyi, who is suspected of receiving an unlawful benefit in 2016. However, the witness, Ihor Bloshko, did not appear at the hearing.

This was reported by a correspondent for NikVesti.

This concerns a case dating back ten years, when in 2016 law enforcement officers detained the then-deputy of the district council, and now mayor of Bashtanka, on suspicion of accepting a bribe. The Economic Protection Department of the National Police of Ukraine stated at the time that Oleksandr Berehovyi had demanded 5,000 hryvnias from a businessman in exchange for not obstructing his business activities, specifically the sanitary clearing of forest belts.

According to law enforcement officials, the money was to be placed in a box for charitable donations to ATO soldiers located inside his shop.

The box into which the money was to be placed

The money found by law enforcement officers in the box

«After lunch, the councillor came to the shop, opened the box and took the money. He immediately lent 3,000 hryvnias to an acquaintance and kept 2,000 hryvnias for himself,» law enforcement officers reported at the time.

In October 2016, during the hearing to determine a preventive measure for Berehovyi, the publication «Novosti-N» wrote that the defence insisted the prosecutor had failed to prove the location and time of the offence, the episode of the transfer of funds, their exact amount, and that they were intended for Oleksandr Berehovyi. In his explanations, prosecutor Maksym Olefir referred at the time to the fact that some of the documents were classified.

In particular, in 2018, lawyer Volodymyr Tymoshyn filed a challenge against the latter. He stated that, whilst examining the audio recordings, it had emerged that his client had mentioned the prosecutor’s own brother, Pavlo Olefir, as a potential recipient of a permit to fell trees in a forest belt.

At the hearing on 6 May, the defence called Ihor Bloshko to be questioned. However, for unknown reasons, he did not appear.

Lawyer Volodymyr Tymoshyn asked the court to adjourn the case and send the witness an official summons to his place of work.

«If possible, please send the summons to his place of work, namely Mykolaivvodokanal,» said Volodymyr Tymoshyn.

«Is that his official place of work?» asked Serhii Yanchuk.

«Yes, he is officially employed there, files tax returns, and has been working as an anti-corruption officer at the municipal enterprise Mykolaivvodokanal since 2016,» replied the defence lawyer.

Judge Serhii Yanchuk, who is hearing the case, clarified that an alternative date had been set for the hearing, but Oleksandr Berehovyi said he would be on sick leave and unable to attend.

The hearing has been adjourned until 19 May.

It should be noted that the mayor of Bashtanka, Oleksandr Berehovyi, who is suspected of embezzling public funds, has returned to work after a four-month suspension.