Head of Yavoriv Education Department Returns to Work After Bribe Arrest

The head of Yavoriv education department, Lviv region, who was previously detained for for allegedly accepting an 800,000 UAH bribe, has reportedly returned to his post, sparking public outrage and concerns over accountability in public service.

The head of the education department of the Yavoriv City Council, Volodymyr Baida, who was detained for bribery, has returned to work. Volodymyr Baida was detained in January this year while receiving money in his office.

The court imposed a preventive measure in the form of detention with the alternative of posting bail in the amount of 908,000 UAH. His suspension from duties expired at the beginning of July and was not extended due to the prosecutor’s failure to submit a corresponding request to the court.

According to the court register, in early June, investigating judge of the Halytskyi District Court of Lviv, Oleh Yurkiv, granted the prosecutor’s request to extend the suspension of 45-year-old Volodymyr Baida, who is suspected of bribery, from his position for one month.

This term expired on July 2. Since the prosecutor did not file a motion to extend the suspension, Volodymyr Baida returned to work. This was confirmed to ZAXID.NET by Yavoriv Deputy Mayor Kateryna Mykhasiak.

“He had been suspended at the investigator’s request, the term expired, and he returned to work,” Kateryna Mykhasiak said on 14 July. She specified that Volodymyr Baida came back to work at the end of last week.

In addition, on 8 July the Lviv Court of Appeal lifted the seizure placed on Volodymyr Baida’s property. The suspect was returned 346,000 UAH that had been confiscated during a search of his Kia Sportage at the time of his arrest.

ZAXID.NET reached out to the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office for comment on Volodymyr Baida’s return to work. Prosecutors said that the pre‑trial investigation was completed on 27 June and the parties are now reviewing the case materials.

“A motion to remove the official from his post has been submitted to the investigating judge of the Halytskyi District Court of Lviv. The results of that motion will be reported separately,” the prosecutor’s office stated.

As a reminder, in January of this year the head of the Yavoriv City Council’s education department—Volodymyr Baida, a council member from the Batkivshchyna party—was detained for taking a bribe totaling more than 800,000 UAH. Investigators documented that he received two payments—275,000 UAH and 546,000 UAH—from a fellow councilor on the Staryi Sambir City Council, local businessman Maryan Yavorsky. The money was a payoff for lobbying the interests of private companies in a tender.

EMPR