Court in Ukraine sentences former migration official Dina Pimakhova to 9 years in prison
Ukraine’s Higher Anti-Corruption Court convicted former first deputy head of the State Migration Service Dina Pimakhova of accepting an especially large unlawful benefit. She was sentenced to nine years in prison, with all her property confiscated and a ban on holding certain public offices.
أبرز النقاط
- The Higher Anti-Corruption Court issued its ruling on 2 November 2026.
- Dina Pimakhova received nine years in prison under Part 4 of Article 368 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code.
- The court ordered the confiscation of all property belonging to Pimakhova.
- She was banned from holding certain public offices, with the duration reported as either two or three years.
- In 2017, Pimakhova received $1,800 to help a Vietnamese citizen obtain a temporary residence permit.
- In August 2017, she sought $30,000 to help an Iranian citizen obtain territorial-origin Ukrainian citizenship and Ukrainian and international travel passports.
- The judgment will take legal effect after 30 days unless appealed.
لماذا يهمّ ذلك
The conviction addresses alleged corruption in migration, citizenship, residence-permit and passport services involving foreign nationals. The nine-year prison sentence, confiscation of all property and public-office ban represent significant penalties for a senior former civil servant. The case originated with an undercover operation in 2017, while the proceedings took roughly nine years before the judgment.
ماذا حدث
On 2 November 2026, the Higher Anti-Corruption Court convicted Dina Pimakhova, the former first deputy head of Ukraine’s State Migration Service, of requesting and accepting an unlawful benefit in an especially large amount. She received nine years in prison, and the court ordered all property belonging to her to be confiscated. It also imposed a public-office ban, although Ukrainian reports differ on whether it lasts two or three years. The court additionally ordered Pimakhova to pay 152,874 hryvnias in procedural costs for involving experts and adopted its decision with a separate opinion.
كيف تصفه المصادر الأوكرانية
Ukrainian reporting focuses on the verdict, the nine-year sentence, the confiscation of Pimakhova’s property and the prohibition on holding public office. The reports also provide extensive details about the alleged transactions involving foreign nationals, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention’s undercover operation in 2017 and the roughly nine-year investigation. The differing duration of the public-office ban is reflected across the Ukrainian coverage.
أين تختلف الروايات
Ukrainian sources disagree on the duration of the ban preventing Pimakhova from holding certain public offices: some report two years, while others state three years.
الخلفية
Pimakhova was the first deputy head of the State Migration Service and left the agency at her own request in March 2018. The investigation followed allegations that she took $1,800 for arranging a temporary residence permit for a Vietnamese citizen and sought $30,000 to arrange territorial-origin citizenship and passports for an Iranian citizen. The planned Iranian citizenship scheme reportedly involved falsified documents, a DNA test using stand-ins and a false court ruling establishing family ties. The National Agency on Corruption Prevention said its operation began in April 2017 to uncover an organized criminal group involving current and former State Migration Service officials. Pimakhova denied soliciting a bribe from the agency’s agent and reported an alleged provocation to law-enforcement authorities.