Scandalous lawmaker expelled from Zelensky's party faces bribery charges
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Mykola Tyshchenko, a controversial lawmaker expelled from President Volodymyr Zelensky's party, has been charged with soliciting a bribe worth more than $1 million, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said on June 29.
Tyshchenko has been involved in numerous controversies and is one of the most scandalous members of parliament. The Kyiv Independent has requested comment from Tyshchenko and will update this story if a response is received.
In 2023 Tyshchenko solicited the bribe for using his powers as a member of parliament to promote the interests of call centers, the NABU said. However, he did not receive the money, according to the bureau.
Tyshchenko was also charged with money laundering and lying in his asset declaration.
Specifically, he laundered Hr 12.6 million ($280,000) through a sham gift agreement with his ex-wife and included it in his declaration, the NABU said. However, she did not have legal income to finance the gift, and no money was in fact transferred from her to Tyshchenko, according to the investigators.
Tyshchenko is no stranger to controversy.
In 2020, his Velyur restaurant in Kyiv violated a COVID-19 lockdown, with many politicians frequenting it.
In 2022, he was fired from the position of the Servant of the People party's chief in Zakarpattia Oblast. Zelensky's party attributed Tyshchenko's dismissal to his bad reputation.
Tyshchenko was expelled from the parliamentary faction of the Servant of the People party in 2023 following a reportedly unsanctioned trip to Thailand during wartime. Under martial law, Ukrainian men aged 22 to 60 are prohibited from leaving the country, except for cases when they obtain special permits from the government.
In 2024, the State Investigation Bureau charged Tyshchenko with illegally detaining a former soldier.
The charges followed videos that showed Tyshchenko and his bodyguards arguing and then fighting with the soldier, who was walking in the city center of Dnipro with his child.
