Ex-MP Solvar was sentenced to prison for the second time for housing scams

Author:
Olha Bereziuk
Date:

The Appellate Chamber of the Higher Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) found former the MP Ruslan Solvar guilty of illegally receiving compensation for housing, despite having his own apartment in Kyiv.

This was reported in the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutorʼs Office (SAP).

SAP does not specify the name of the person involved in the case, but from its details it is clear that it is about Solvar.

The appeal overturned the previous decision of HACC dated June 14, 2021, declaring Solvar innocent and passed a new verdict: guilty under part 2 of Art. 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — abuse of office.

The ex-MP was sentenced to three years in prison, banned from holding positions in state authorities (except for elected ones) for one year, and fined 8 500 hryvnias.

The decision takes effect from the moment of its announcement, it can be appealed in the cassation procedure to the Supreme Court within three months.

  • Solvar was elected deputy of the VII and VIII convocations (2012-2019). He is accused of receiving compensation from the state for renting accommodation in the "Kyiv" hotel as an MP, although he had housing in Kyiv. He received a hotel room in 2014 and only in 2018, after publicity in the media, Solvar refused compensation. In four years, he received more than 360 thousand hryvnias.
  • In June 2021, HACC decided to acquit the former peopleʼs deputy in this case, but the prosecutors did not agree with this and filed an appeal. In September 2022, HACC sentenced the former deputy to three years in prison, but already in December of the following year, the prison term was canceled and the case was sent for a new trial.
  • In June 2024, it became known that Solvar had apparently mobilized to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine — because of this, the court considered the possibility of suspending his case.