Army Instead of Prison. How former MP Ruslan Solvar, Convicted of Top Corruption, Tried to Avoid Verdict

Former MP Ruslan Solvar got under the attention of anti-corruption authorities in 2018 when he was found to have unreasonably received more than UAH 360,000 in compensation from the budget for living in Kyiv.

His case went through all instances, to the Supreme Court and back to the Appeals Chamber of the HACC (hereinafter—HACC AC). This year, Ruslan Solvar suddenly sign the contract to serve in the Armed Forces, when the sentence was almost announced. In fact, he became the first soldier who was convicted of high-profile corruption later and is now serving the sentence.

This material examines whether military service will interfere with Ruslan Solvar serving his sentence and delves into the developments of this case over the years.

Three verdicts of Ruslan Solvar 

In October 2018, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine started an investigation against former MP Ruslan Solvar who unreasonably received compensation for several months from the Verkhovna Rada for renting a room in the “Kyiv” hotel. The MP did not inform on time the Apparatus of Verkhovna Rada responsible for such payments about the fact that he had inherited an apartment in Kyiv. He did so only after the information was reported in the media and claimed that he immediately reimbursed all the losses to the state. At the time, the amount was UAH 361,500.

However, in December 2019, Ruslan Solvar was served with a suspicion notice of abuse of authority. But, in June 2021, the HACC acquitted the former MP due to the misclassification of his actions by law enforcement officers. According to the judges, it would have been correct to charge Ruslan Solvar with fraud. However, since the latter entails a graver punishment, the first instance could not convict Ruslan Solvar by law. So, the prosecutor filed an appeal against this decision.

The second decision in the case was made by the HACC AC, which in September 2022 found Ruslan Solvar guilty of abuse of office. The judges decided that it was lawful to change the qualification in terms of whether the former MP abused his authority or office.

The former MP was sentenced to 3 years in prison with a fine of UAH 8,500 and a ban on holding certain positions for a year. This time, Ruslan Solvar’s illness prevented the enforcement of the sentence, and the defense claimed that the former MP was in a cardiology hospital with a hypertensive disease and diabetes. This means that he allegedly mustn’t stress himself with anything.

Due to the lack of consistent case law in the application of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (abuse of authority or office), which Ruslan Solvar was charged with, his case went even further—to the Supreme Court. The indictment of the HACC AC was reviewed in cassation by the joint chamber of the Criminal Cassation Court because the highest-level judges needed to clarify the difference between abuse of power and abuse of office. In December 2023, the Criminal Cassation Court decided to reconsider the former MP’s case in the appellate instance because a significant violation of the requirements of the criminal procedural law had been found. Again, it was because the NABU-SAPO charged Ruslan Solvar with abuse of authority, and the wording in the verdict was changed to abuse of office.

Therefore, along with this decision, the Supreme Court formed a legal position on the distinction between the forms of the objective side of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Prior to that, in similar cases, MPs had been both acquitted and convicted. Therefore, the court explained that if an official abuses the guarantees provided to him or her as a representative of the authorities (in particular, a member of parliament), it is quite logical to call that abuse of authority.

Finally, after re-examining Ruslan Solvar’s case, on August 26, 2024, the HACC AC again issued a guilty verdict, which was 3 years in prison, a fine of UAH 8,500, and a ban on holding positions that entail exercising functions of a representative of the authorities in public authorities for a year. This time, the former MP was convicted of abuse of authority: he failed to inform the Office of the Apparatus of Verkhovna Rada about his apartment in Kyiv, thus abusing his housing guarantees. In addition, the HACC AC noted in the verdict that the first instance had correctly established the factual circumstances of the case but had given them an incorrect legal qualification.

But even before that, a lot of interesting things happened to Ruslan Solvar who did not want to wait for the verdict and joined the army before it was announced.

How Ruslan Solvar became a soldier, and why it does NOT save him from prison

When the appeal proceedings were nearing the end in the summer of 2024, Ruslan Solvar was again hospitalized, and as soon as he left the medical facility, the former MP was called up right in the street. Then, as a reserve lieutenant, he was immediately sent to the front, at least, that’s what Ruslan Solvar’s defense attorney claimed.

In fact, it turned out that the former MP was doing military service voluntarily under a contract, and this was the answer the court received from the head of the territorial center for recruitment and social support. Perhaps, Ruslan Solvar hoped that the proceedings against him would be suspended due to his service in the Armed Forces, and the defense even filed a motion to suspend the proceedings. However, when it was reported that the former MP was not mobilized, but signed a contract for military service, the defense itself asked the court not to consider the motion filed earlier.

The law stipulates that the contract is terminated, and the servicemen are discharged from military service in case of a guilty verdict that imposes a prison sentence. Since the verdict had entered into force, Ruslan Solvar’s contract should have been terminated, and he should have been dismissed from the Armed Forces, but it was unclear for quite some time whether this actually happened.

A recent response we received from the Department for the Execution of Criminal Punishments indicates that the verdict of the HACC AC in terms of the enforcement of imprisonment against convicted Ruslan Solvar was enforced. This means that Ruslan Solvar is currently in prison.

Interestingly, almost immediately after the verdict, Ruslan Solvar’s defense counsel filed a cassation appeal, and on November 4, the Criminal Cassation Court opened cassation proceedings to review the case. At the same time, the former MP’s attorney also asked to suspend the enforcement of the sentence immediately after it was passed, and again explained this by the fact that Ruslan Solvar was doing military service under a contract, but the court refused to grant it.

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 Ruslan Solvar’s case is indicative and important for several reasons.

Firstly, it ended the confusion over the interpretation of cases where MPs allegedly abuse their housing guarantees. Without planning it, Ruslan Solvar contributed to solving an important problem of criminal law—defining the meaning of the concept of “abuse of authority.” The HACC still has a lot of similar cases pending, and we are sure that not all defendants are satisfied with the way the case law is developing in this area.

Secondly, we see that justice has finally caught up with Solvar, regardless of how long his case has been wandering around the courts and where he is. Joining the army is a brave and noble decision, but it should not be an indulgence for corrupt officials.

That is why we at TI Ukraine continue to follow the cassation appeal. This story has already had so many twists and turns, and who knows what will happen next.