How the Odesa Mayor Made Bail

Odesa Mayor Gennady Trukhanov, who was arrested on May 5 on the charge of embezzling public funds amounting to more than Hr.92 million hryvnias (2.5 million dollars), was released on bail of Hr.13 million hryvnias ($350,500) on May 16.

Mayor Trukhanov was taken into custody on May 5. Initially, he claimed that he could not afford the bail, so the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court (VAKS) had him spend a night in pre-trial detention.

Shortly thereafter, Dmytro Tantsyura, a member of Trukhanov’s Doviryai Dilam faction in the Odesa City Council posted bail for the mayor.

In an additional twist indicative of the machinations that have long plagued Ukraine’s judicial system, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), announced on May 16 that the bail of Hr.13 million (350.500 dollars) would not be enough to eliminate the flight risk.

SAPO representatives insisted on increasing the bail to Hr.51 million ($1,375 million dollars).

Prosecutor Anastasia Andronova emphasized that when the bail of Hr.13 million was set, Trukhanov’s assets and finances had not been taken sufficiently into account. 

Ultimately the court ruled against increasing the bail, and Trukhanov decided not to appeal the decision.

Trukhanov has claimed that the case is nothing more than a political persecution aimed at him.  

“Now I am 100% sure that this is a hunt for me personally,” Trukhanov said at his May 16 court appearance.

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