Andriy Mykolaiovych Odarchenko was born on 2 November 1978 in the city of Kharkiv, then a part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union. He graduated from the Kharkiv State University of Food Technology and Trade in 2000, specialising in commodity science and commercial activity. In 2013, he again graduated from the Kharkiv State University of Food Technology and Trade, this time with a master's degree in economics and enterprising. He is a Doctor of Technical Sciences.[1]
In 2011, he began working at the Kharkiv State University of Food Technology and Trade's faculty of trade, business, and customs management as the faculty's dean. In 2015, he additionally became a professor at the university's department of merchandising, quality management, and environmental protection. In his work as a professor, Odarchenko was responsible for three people becoming Candidates of Technical Science.[1]
On 21 November 2023, he was charged with attempting to bribe Mustafa Nayem, then head of Ukraine's State Agency for Reconstruction, by offering cryptocurrency in exchange for funds to repair a university where Odarchenko is rector.[2] He was arrested and later released on UAH 15 million bail.[3]
On 18 September 2024, it was announced that he had failed to appear at a scheduled court hearing and subsequently fled to Romania where he requested asylum.[4] On 19 September, Ukraine issued an international warrant for his arrest.[5]
On 14 November 2024, Odarchenko was convicted of attempted bribery and sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison and asset confiscation.[6][7]
