Kyiv Council member Trubitsyn, accused of corruption, declared internationally wanted

Kyiv City Council member Vladyslav Trubitsyn of President Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party has been declared wanted after being accused of accepting a UAH 1.39 million hryvnia ($46,000) bribe. Trubitsyn reportedly fled Ukraine last week, thanks to a letter from Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov.

Today, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office reported that the High Anti-Corruption Court granted the request to put the official on the international wanted list.

The court took into account Trubitsyn's systematic no-shows for court hearings, as well as the presence of confirmed information about his crossing of the border, therefore satisfied the request of the SAPO in full.

The prosecutor's office is also seeking UAH 9.886 million ($330,000) of bail to be seized to the state revenue and pre-trial detention as a preventive measure. The court will consider this motion at a hearing on June 12.

On February 9, 2022, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine announced that it had exposed Trubitsyn and five other people for receiving bribes for assistance in the organization of retail trade in Kyiv.

On May 16, 2023, he did not appear at the court hearing, the lawyers could not confirm his whereabouts. The investigation established that the deputy crossed the border of Ukraine on May 13, 2023.

On May 30, the SAPO submitted a request for an international search for deputy Trubitsyn. The department stated that the accused's whereabouts are unknown.

Radio Liberty's investigative project "Skhemy" reported that Trubitsyn went abroad to Poland with the permission of the head of the State Border Guard Service on the basis of a letter from the head of the military intelligence, which was confirmed by HUR. Reportedly, the Special Operations Forces requested to facilitate Trubitsyn's departure.