On July 9, lawyer of People's Deputy Mykola Tishchenko Yaroslav Horbatenko informed the Public Broadcasting Company that the bail set by the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) in the amount of 10 million hryvnias had been paid. At the same time, the press service of the High Anti-Corruption Court specifically told UNN that they do not see funds in the account. Later, LIGA.net received a clarification from HACC: the funds are being credited, partial amounts are already in the account — but not the full amount.
Who paid and why this matters
According to Horbatenko, the money was provided by two sources: Tishchenko himself and an anonymous third party. The lawyer did not disclose the name of the second payer — explaining that he does not have permission from his client to disclose this information, and did not clarify how the amounts were divided between them.
«According to the information I have, the bail has been paid. As far as I know, this is money directly from Mykola, as well as from a third party. I have no information about who this person is».
— Tishchenko's lawyer Yaroslav Horbatenko
However, the court emphasized: the law does not prohibit paying bail with funds from third parties. Nevertheless, the question of the anonymous payer's identity remains open — especially in light of money laundering allegations.
Three episodes of suspicion: what the National Anti-Corruption Bureau alleges
On June 29, 2024, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) notified Tishchenko of suspicion under three articles of the Criminal Code. According to the investigation, in August 2023, the deputy, under the guise of publicly fighting call centers, approached a person he believed was involved in this business and demanded over 1 million dollars. In exchange for this money, according to NABU, he promised to use his deputy status: helping some call centers and not interfering with others. The scheme failed to materialize — the MP never received the money.
The second episode concerns money laundering. The investigation believes that 12.6 million hryvnias of illegal origin were legalized by Tishchenko through a fictitious gift agreement with his ex-wife. According to detectives, the woman had no legitimate income to make such a gift, and no actual transfer of funds occurred — yet the MP listed this amount in his annual declaration as received income. This is the third episode: intentional entry of knowingly false information into a declaration.
Preventive measure and appeal
On July 3, HACC chose a preventive measure: bail of 10 million hryvnias, an electronic bracelet, surrender of foreign passport, and a ban on leaving Kyiv. Prosecutors requested that Tishchenko be taken into custody with an alternative bail of over 19 million hryvnias — the court agreed only partially. The deputy was to pay the funds within five days.
Regarding an appeal of the preventive measure decision — the defense has not yet made a decision. As Horbatenko explained, the defense team received the full text of HACC's ruling only in the evening of July 8 and is currently studying it. Tishchenko himself did not acknowledge the suspicion in court and called the case «fabricated».
If HACC confirms the payment of the full bail amount, Tishchenko will be able to remain free until the trial on the merits — but the anonymity of the third payer will become a separate focus of investigation: in a money laundering case, the source of bail is not a formality.
