Court decisions against corrupt officials increased by 37% in 2025

Courts issued 2,032 decisions in corruption cases during the first five months of 2025. This is a 37% increase compared to last year. However, the number is still lower than during the same period in 2021.

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Number of court decisions for corruption

Year	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Number of decisions	6,894	2,641	2,571	4,907	2,032

The number of corruption-related court decisions has been gradually increasing after a major drop during 2022–2023, following the start of the full-scale war. At that time, officials were not required to submit asset declarations, or the deadline was postponed, and the annual number of decisions fell nearly three times. Almost 5,000 court decisions were issued after the obligation to file declarations was reinstated in 2024. Officials also had to submit declarations for previous years if they hadn’t done so earlier.

The most active region for punishing corruption offenses this year is Vinnytsia — courts there have already issued 182 decisions, which is 9% of the total. Other leading regions include Odesa (168), last year’s leader Lviv (147), followed by Dnipropetrovsk (116) and Kyiv (115).

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Over 73% of all court decisions this year relate to violations of financial control rules — 1,487 cases. In other words, officials either failed to submit their asset declarations or submitted them with errors. The number of such decisions increased fivefold over the year — likely due to reviews of declarations accumulated from previous years. Meanwhile, bribery cases dropped by almost half — down to 347 decisions. Punishments for conflict of interest violations also became much rarer — only 70 decisions, a drop of nearly 80%.

In most cases — 97% — those found guilty of corruption receive only a fine. Only 44 people were sentenced to actual prison time. Fines vary widely, depending on the offense — from 850 UAH to 680,000 UAH. The same goes for prison sentences: they range from 1 to 10 years.

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How are corrupt officials most often punished

Fine	1,972	97.0%
Restriction of freedom	44	2.2%
Community service	11	0.5%
Imprisonment	3	0.1%
Release from punishment	2	0.1%

This year, the largest fine was given to a PhD student at a music academy in Kyiv. He was offering foreign students help with university admission, studies, and thesis defense — for a fee. As a result, he was fined 680,000 UAH.

At the same time, the longest prison sentence was given to a military serviceman in Sumy region. A sergeant responsible for supplies received a night vision device and a thermal imager, which he decided to keep and later tried to sell. For this, the court sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

Context

It’s important to note that a person listed in the Register of Corrupt Officials in Ukraine is added for life. However, there are several reasons why someone can be removed from the register:

• If the court decision is overturned or the person is acquitted;
• If the administrative ruling is canceled;
• If the person takes part in defending the country during wartime as part of any military unit.

In all other cases, the information about the person stays in the Register forever — even for minor violations, such as a civil servant submitting a declaration late once.

However, in April 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) made a significant ruling in the case “Sytnyk v. Ukraine” (application no. 16497/20). The Court ruled in favor of the applicant, finding that Ukraine had violated human rights. The ECHR said that adding the applicant to the Register for life and labeling him a “corrupt official” was an interference with his right to private life. It harmed his professional and social reputation, undermined trust in his work and achievements, and cast doubt on his moral character.

Currently, a draft law is awaiting the President’s signature. If signed, it would limit the time officials with administrative corruption violations stay in the Register — to one year only.