Ukrainian MP Flees to Romania Amid Corruption Scandal

In a dramatic twist that has Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies scrambling, Andriy Odarchenko, a sitting member of Parliament from the ruling Servant of the People party, has reportedly fled to Romania, dodging serious corruption charges. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) dropped the bombshell during a High Anti-Corruption Court session on September 23, revealing that Odarchenko slipped across the border away from official checkpoints and is now seeking asylum in Romania.

The parliamentarian’s escape reads like a political thriller, with his last sighting in Kyiv traced back to his driver—just hours before Odarchenko disappeared. Now an international fugitive, he stands accused of offering a bribe to Mustafa Nayyem, the former head of the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development, in the form of bitcoins. The bribe, prosecutors claim, was part of a plot to siphon funds meant for post-war recovery efforts into his own interests, specifically for repairs at the State Biotechnological University, where Odarchenko still holds the title of rector, though his contract has been suspended.

Odarchenko’s brazen getaway has shocked Ukraine, a nation already engaged in a struggle against corruption while trying to clean its image. His case, which includes an alleged bitcoin bribe offered in exchange for accessing funds from the Ukrainian war recovery fund, casts a dark shadow over the country’st efforts.

The fallout has been swift. Prosecutors from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have filed motions to seize Odarchenko’s 15 million hryvnias ($362,547) bail and transfer it to the state treasury. They are also pushing to swap his bail for detention, underscoring just how seriously authorities are treating this scandal.

Odarchenko’s flight not only exposes the deep cracks in Ukraine’s fight against political corruption but also raises pressing questions about how far some officials will go to dodge accountability. In a country trying to rid itself of corruption in order to join the EU and possibly NATO, this scandal serves as a sobering reminder of the many hurdles ahead.