In Dnipro, a judge is suspected of unlawfully appropriating a rented apartment.

In Dnipro, employees of the State Bureau of Investigations have announced charges against a judge who unlawfully appropriated a rented apartment. This was reported on Friday, February 21, by the press service of the SBI.

According to investigators, a judge from the Babushkinsky District Court of Dnipro rented an apartment in the historical center of the city but failed to pay rent for two months and refused to allow the owner access to the premises. Additionally, he filed a civil lawsuit in another court demanding recognition of his ownership rights to the apartment. In court, he presented a forged receipt from the apartment owner, allegedly confirming that she sold the apartment to the judge for 412,000 UAH. A colleague of the accused granted the lawsuit and recognized the apartment as the judge's property.

“However, the woman (the owner of the apartment – ed.) stated that she had not received any money and had not signed any documents. Handwriting analysis confirmed her words: the signature on the receipt was found to be forged. Another examination established that the actual market value of the apartment is nearly 1 million UAH,” the report states.

Law enforcement conducted searches at the court and seized a mobile phone containing evidence of the illegal appropriation of property. He was charged with misleading the court and fraud in particularly large amounts (Part 2 of Article 384 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and Part 5 of Article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The accused faces up to 12 years in prison and confiscation of property.

Furthermore, the SBI has prepared a request to the High Council of Justice for permission to keep the judge in custody and to suspend him from administering justice.