Serhiy Zinchenko, a former judge at Kyiv’s Solomianskyi District Court, was found dead in his Podil district apartment in Kyiv on Nov. 18. Zinchenko’s lawyer, Larysa Kryvoruchko, wrote on Facebook on Nov. 23 that her client had been shot.
Hromadske news site reported that police have opened a criminal investigation but suspect suicide.
Legal news service Sudovyi Reporter said that Zinchenko’s apartment door was open when his body was found, citing unnamed sources. The website reported that the ex-judge was on the cusp of closing a business deal and receiving a large sum of money.
Zinchenko was detained in early 2017 for allegedly accepting a $22,000 bribe. The former judge was also reportedly part of a criminal investigation about fraudulent acquisition of apartments from deceased residents.
